Ant Invasion – Bryan, Texas
By May, most of the ant colonies around the Bryan, Texas area are fully active. The foragers are out gathering food. The scouts are looking for new areas should the colony need to divide or relocate. The workers are assessing the colonies’ needs and making repairs. They are also restocking their food supply from last year and laying in new stores for the coming winter.
What does all of this mean for the Bryan and College Station community? It means ant invasions.
The Hunt For Food
The primary reason that ants invade homes is that there is so much food around. A little crumb is a lot of food for an ant. The other reason ants invade homes is to find water. Homes are abundant with food and water, and both of those components make most homes a target for ant infestations.
Getting Rid of Ants
There is a little bit of biology involved in getting rid of ants. If you use DIY ant treatments, you probably wonder why the ants are gone for a while but then come back again. Ants are a social insect. They are “born” so-to-speak into roles that never change. What you see in your house are foraging ants. Their job is to find food and then alert the colony.
The Anatomy of an Ant Infestation
Ant infestations look a little different depending on where in the infestation cycle the event happens. If you see a few ants here and there, then you are looking at the beginning of the event. These are the forager ants looking for food sources. If you watch them, they go along the surface of the counter and touch their rear to the surface. What they are doing is making a chemical trail that the worker ants can follow. That is why and how ants form lines.
Different Phases of Infestations
If you wake up and go to make coffee only to find that the kitchen counter is swarming with ants, you are looking at the middle of the infestation. The workers have arrived and are trying to make short work of the food source. The line of ants is usually working in two directions as the workers remove food and walk it back to the colony. If left to their own devices, they would clean up the food and be gone though the foragers would continue to look for food.
Understanding the True Target
The colony is the pivotal part of this cycle. It is, in a sense, a small factory that continues to create ants to fill vacancies for the roles that it needs to remain successful.
Our deep understanding of insects and pests allows us to remove pests at their source efficiently. It is not precisely the foraging ants that need to go. It is the colony. By eliminating the colony, you stop the cycle of infestation.
Learn more about our affordable and comprehensive pest control services by giving us a call. We provide exceptional pest control services throughout the Bryan and College Station Communities.
