There are some pests that many households never have to call a Broken Arrow exterminator for. On the other hand, there are some pests that every household at one point or another is going to encounter in some way, shape or form. One of those pests that are pretty much inevitable is the ant. These insects are insatiable and practically undeniable. When they decide they want something, they’re going to go after that till they get it, or die trying. In this article let’s explore ants, their lifecycle and how we can keep them out of our homes and businesses with your Broken Arrow exterminator.
ANT COLONIES AND BROKEN ARROW EXTERMINATOR
Ants are an eusocial insect. They live in a colony that completes the tasks within it using a caste system. This system gives them the ability to separate out the labor among many different individuals. At the top of the chain are the reproductives. This includes the queen. Her task is to lay all the eggs to maintain the population of the colony. She will lay eggs day and night until the day she dies.
The second caste that we encounter as Broken Arrow exterminators are soldier ants. These ants are usually larger in size and tasked with protecting the colony. They have many different defense mechanisms such as large mandibles, large heads, glands that produce acids, poisons and a host of other defensive mechanisms. If the colony is attacked, these insects come to life and go after their attackers. In addition, they also are used in attacking other colonies if the ant species is one that will prey upon other ants or termites.
WORKER ANTS AND BROKEN ARROW EXTERMINATOR
The last caste is the worker caste. This is the most numerous of all the castes. In many ant species, the workers are all female. These insects are tasked with tending to the eggs and larva, feeding the colony, foraging for food, bringing the food back, taking out the trash and many other responsibilities that fall on their shoulders.
Ant colonies can reproduce in many different ways. A common way is known as splintering. Ants and other insects use pheromones to communicate to each other. These pheromones are smellable hormones that they can sense when they’re around one another. In colonies were the ant species use splintering to create new colonies, the queen will emit a special pheromone that tells all of the worker ants to remain sterile. If something happens, and a group of worker ants are separated from the colony and no longer can get back to the colony, they are not in contact with this pheromone, and one of those ants will become reproductive. When this happens, the worker ant will become a queen in a new colony and the other workers will support that queen. By doing this they’ve created a second colony.
BROKEN ARROW EXTERMINATOR FIGHTS ANT REPRODUCTION
Some species of ants use aelates to multiply. These colonies will create reproductives with wings. These winged ants will fly out at a certain time of year and try to swarm with other ants that are the same species. When they find another ant that they find suitable to mate with, these flying ants will mate in mid air and then find a suitable place to start a colony. They will land there, lose their wings and start their new colony.
Pheromones are used for more than just reproductive uses. These smellable hormones are also used when workers are foraging for food. It helps them to find the shortest path to the food source that they have found. A worker will leave a trail of pheromone as it walks from the colony out in search for food. Once it finds that food, it will grab some of it and then follow the pheromone trail back dropping more pheromone across it. This intern strengthens the smell of the pheromone. The smell will weaken over time. So once this ant comes back to the colony with food, the other worker ants will notice that it has food and immediately follow the same pheromone trail to the source of the food.
In many cases another ant will find the same food by a different path. When this happens, their pheromone trail is also followed. The shorter trail will become stronger overtime because more ants will have traveled it in a shorter time. As it gets stronger, the workers will start to prefer that trail over the other longer trail. Eventually the pheromones in the longer trail will fade out and only the short trail will remain. It’s an ingenious system the mother nature has developed.
ANT NUTRITION AND BROKEN ARROW EXTERMINATOR
Ants require different kinds of foods in order to survive. In many cases, their young require more proteins in order to build the structures in their bodies that they are going to need to complete the tasks that are required as an adult. As an adult, though, they’re going to need more carbohydrates to give them the energy to do the things that are necessary. In order to do this, ants have multiple different sources of food. Often they will attack other insects or other insect colonies in order to provide the proteins necessary for their young. They also will feed heavily on honeydew. This is a sugary substance that’s released by aphids as they eat nectar. This gives them the energy as adults to complete the activities that are necessary for the colony.
If you’re having any issues with ants or any other pest, then it is time to call in a professional Broken Arrow exterminator to take care of the issues. Here at TermMax Pest Control, we are the best of the business when it comes to dealing with ants or any other pests. We service a greater Tulsa area including Owasso, Claremore, Catoosa, Broken Arrow, Prattville, Jenks, Bixby, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Turley and much more. Call today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!