Feeling a little antsy? Welcome to the club.
“There’s been quite a few calls for ants,” Bryon Estes, the manager of McKinzie Pest Control, said on Friday. “I’ve taken five or six calls just this morning. They’re going pretty strong this time.”
Springtime is when ants always seem to appear in large numbers anyway. But if homeowners are seeing a few more six-legged guests than usual, take comfort: you’re not alone. Just about anywhere that’s been getting heavier-than-usual rainfall has been experiencing the same thing, from eastern Oregon to parts of New York.
“I’ve never experienced one as big as this,” Bob Hart of Pacific Crest Pest Control told The East Oregonian newspaper of Salem, Ore., after getting more than 30 calls related to the storm.
So what does wet weather have to do with anything? Well, the same rain that keeps some people indoors and restless can flood ant tunnels and force them to go on the move.
“They nest underground, so the rain may be driving them out to search for new homes,” said Sharon Dobesh, the pesticide and integrated pest management coordinator for Kansas State University. “Some of the ground dwellers start coming out and looking to relocate.”
Most ants are more of a nuisance than anything, Dobesh said. The main exceptions are the carpenter ants, which dig out chunks of wood for their nests, and red imported fire ants, which cause $6 billion of damage a year in the United States and have caused 80 documented deaths as of 2006.
Fire ants are mostly found in the southern United States, Dobesh said, and aren’t usually considered a threat in Kansas. But scares do happen — in 2001, fire ants spread through one city block in Lawrence before being contained.
Still, most ants found in the United States are fairly harmless. Which doesn’t mean that people want them in their home, or worse, their food. So how do you keep them out, or get rid of them once you’ve got them?
The first trick: do that yard work you’ve been putting off. Specifically, trim back any trees or shrubs that are touching the house. Those might as well be insect interstates, offering an easy access to your home.
Second, seal up any cracks and crevices in the house that you can find, particularly any leaks near doors and windows.
Estes suggested keeping an eye on your ornamental plants as well for aphids. Ants feed off of the honeydew that aphids excrete. And of course, don’t leave food out if you can help it.
Over-the-counter products can help repel an invasion, Dobesh said, but read the label carefully to make sure it’s effective against ants and safe to use in the house. “Ant stations” similar to roach motels can work, too. But the most effective substance, she said, is probably boric acid.
“It’s very safe around kids and animals,” Dobesh said. “When ants walk through it, it sticks to their feet. As they groom themselves, it carves holes in their exoskeleton and they die.”
There’s a lot of other chemicals and substances that will repel ants, Estes said, but those don’t really solve the problem. The ants simply avoid the substance and go around it. Most exterminators prefer baits and non-repellent chemicals inside the home — the sort that an ant will take home to its nest — along with spraying outside of the house and working with the homeowner to check nearby trees for nests.
And of course, everyone has their own home remedies for ants. You’re always free to try what you like, both Estes and Dobesh said, though there are no guarantees any of it will work.
“I’ve seen people use hedgeapples, ground-up cayenne pepper, chlorine bleach solution,” Estes said.
Those wanting to make the effort can try to follow the ant trails back to the nest. Treat the nest and you treat the problem ... at least, until the next colony shows up.
And remember, it could always be worse.
“We’ve been seeing a lot of snakes getting driven out of their homes in our neighborhood,” Dobesh said.
Ant or termite?
At this time of year, flying swarms of ants and termites are both common. Of the two, termites are by far the more destructive. But how do you know which is which? A few tips from Estes:
• Termites have a thick waist. Ants are pinched at the waist.
• Termites have straight antennae. An ant’s are bent.
• All four of a termite’s wings will be the same length. On a flying ant, the front and back wings will be different lengths.
Note that one can lead to the other. Carpenter ants eat termites and may turn up if they see a good meal in the area.