The sunny summer months are a great time to go out and have a picnic. Spread out a blanket, bring lunch in a basket and enjoy your day in the sun. Of course, if you ever try this, you’ll find out real quickly if there are ants anywhere nearby. These tiny insects mobilize to come and consume the food that you’ve brought seemingly for them. It’s important that we take care of these pests if they’re anywhere near and trying to get to your food. In this article let’s explore the world of ants, their colony, their life cycle and how to deal with and get rid of this tiny army of insects.
THE ANTS BODY
A closer look at an ants body will reveal that it has three distinct body parts. The first body part that you will find is the head. This part of the body contains the eyes, the mouth and the antenna. The first part of the body is the head. The mind of these little creatures is buried inside this unique structure. Antenna are particularly important to the ant in finding its way around and sensing it surroundings. A reputable Tulsa pest control company can help.
The next section of the body is the thorax. The thorax is the mobility portion of the bug. All six legs come out of the center section of the body and provide the mobility and movement that the ant will need to not only move on its own, but also to carry the heavy things it would be task to carry. Lastly the abdomen hangs off the back. This section contains all of the vital organs necessary for life. The stomach, lungs, heart and other organs are here. Small holes around the abdomen allowed the insect to breathe. A common misconception is that ants breathe through their mouth, but no, these small holes are what they breathe through.
THE LIFECYCLE OF ANTS
Ants develop from egg to adults through a process known as complete metamorphosis. Much like the butterfly, the ant starts as an egg laid by the Queen, and then hatches to become a larva. This worm like stage is much like the caterpillar and then it must eat, grow and develop. After it has grown to a certain point, the larva will pupate. This, much like the cocoon of the butterfly, is a stage in which the larva pupates itself in order to grow into adulthood. When the time is right, the pupa will open and an adult ant will emerge. Your Broken Arrow exterminator will have more information.
During this process, ants are very susceptible to predators. Because of this, this insect colonies into a large family that work together to protect itself. The colony has three distinct castes. At the top of the casts are the reproductive‘s. These are the ants are tasked with reproducing more ants. In this caste you’ll find the queen laying all the eggs of the colony, and reproductive‘s. These other reproductive‘s are tasked with creating new colonies and being queens as well. Some types of ants will have multiple queens in a colony. Other kinds of ants will multiply their colonies by splintering. When a group of worker ants, which are all female, become separated from the colony for an extended period time, one of the worker ants will become reproductive and act as a new queen. This creates a brand new colony wherever they have found themselves.
SOLDIERS AND WORKERS
The second caste are the soldiers. These ants are usually larger in size and equipped with many different mechanisms for fighting. When the colony is attacked, these insects come to life and protect the colony from invaders. In some species they can also be used to hunt and attack other insects in order to bring back protein for the young. Call your Broken Arrow pest control company for more details.
Lastly the worker ants are the workhorse of the colony. These ants are the largest group within the colony. They are tasked with all the menial duties that are required to keep the colony going. These duties include tending to the young, foraging for food, bringing the food back, creating tunnels in the colony, taking out the trash and much more. Worker ants live a hard life requires them to be busy all day long.
INDOOR VS OUTDOOR
There are many different species of it, but in Oklahoma almost all of them are outside. The only exception to this rule is the odorous house ants. This ant finds itself creating colonies inside the home. It is one of the species that uses splintering as a method of multiplying its colonies. Because of this, if you find odorous house ants in your home, it’s a bad idea to go to the hardware store and get a can of insecticide in order to deal with them. These insecticides are repellent in nature and you can create a barrier they could separate a group of workers from its colony. This will cause that isolated set of workers to splinter and become a new colony. Now you have two colonies. You just doubled your problem.
Odorous house ants are named after the smell that you get once you crush one of them. If you crush them and smell them and they smell something like a rotten coconut, you found an odorous house. This is usually the easiest way to determine if the ants that you’re dealing with are the inside or outside variety.
DEALING WITH ANTS
Many people, when they find ants in their yard want to get rid of all the ants in the yard. This is a bad idea. Ants are required for the ecosystem to be balanced. They prey on a lot of bad insects including thrips, aphids and termites. It’s important to have these predators in your yard balancing out nature.
If you’re dealing with ants or any other pest-control issues it’s time to call your professional Tulsa exterminator. Here at TermMax Pest Control we’re a reliable company that can take care of ants or any other issues that you may be having in your home. We service the greater Tulsa area including Coweta, Claremore, Catoosa, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Bixby, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Prattville, Owasso, Wagner, Turley and much more. Call today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!