Budget Pest Control

	ANTS There they are again... A trail of tiny ants moving along the baseboard, up the wall, along the counter top and into the sugar bowl...Where do they come from? The invading ants may be outside around the foundation, under the sidewalk or in an old tree stump. In order to completely eliminate the colony, Budget Pest Control uses very slow working baits and micro-encapsulated product.

		CARPENTER ANTS Size: These are typically large ants up to 1/2-inch long. Queens are about 3/4-inch in length, while the males are smaller at 1/2-inch. Color: Their color varies from black, brown & black, red and black, to light brown depending on the species. The two most common pest species are red or black in color. Signs of Invasion.. Infestation Sawdust piles can be a sign of foraging carpenter ants The black ant has been studied extensively. These ants nest in wood. Preferring fungus and moisture damaged wood, they excavate galleries or tunnels in rotting and sometimes sound trees and will easily infest wood structures. Where they live...We get calls mainly for 2 kinds of ants. One is the small ant and the other is for carpenter ants. Carpenter ants are the great big ants, there are some species that are big and all black, some red and black and a little smaller, but not the teeny tiny ones. A very slow working product controls the carpenter ants. If you try to spray or fog carpenter ants – like roaches it’s very irritating to them and all you do is run them to different parts of the house. You can make it so irritating that they bud off into satellite colonies instead of having one primary colony. If they are repelled by liquid sprays they can move into other parts of the house and then you have satellite colonies. Satellite colonies are a colony of ants that don’t have a primary queen but there is a lot of working individuals that live there and they go back and forth to the primary colony. If you use a liquid spray you spread them out all over the house. You have to use very slow working products. They are coming from the outside just like a lot of the other pests. A lot of times you will find them in dead tree limbs, tree stumps, and firewood piles. We use special ant bait called Carpenter Ant Bait. It is made for Carpenter ants alone. Tips for Control These tips will help you to prevent a carpenter ant infestation: Store any firewood away from your home, and remove any dead wood or wood scraps from around the foundation, so that carpenter ants do not migrate from the wood into your home. Make sure that all plumbing or roof leaks are sealed, and check crawl spaces for excess moisture. Water from rain gutters should be directed away from your home and not be allowed to accumulate close to the foundation.

		FIRE ANTS Identification Tips There are many sizes of fire ants in a colony ranging from 1/8-inch to almost 3/8-inch in length. Color: Reddish brown. These ants are very aggressive and will readily sting humans or animals leaving large welts that may be sore for several hours. What they do... According to the Washington Post, Oct. 11 1999 issue, a 5 -day old baby was attacked indoors in its crib and died of fire ant stings. A 2 year old attacked in his home suffered eye damage. Also reported was the death of 2 elderly Mississippi nursing home patients. Fire ant stings can kill both animals and people. Where they live... The red imported fire ant was brought into this country some 60 years ago .These ants nest in the soil and construct large mounds that are easily seen in lawns and pastures. A single lawn may contain a dozen or more smaller mounds. This ant will also locate nests within landscape mulch and beneath items on the ground, such as landscape timbers. The mounds of such colonies may be shallow and poorly structured making them difficult to detect for the less experienced eye. Fire ants may construct mounds next to the foundation and enter homes through weep holes or other exterior cracks and holes. Once inside, workers forage in trails beneath the edge of carpeting. On occasion, the ants will bring soil up into walls or beneath first floor bathrooms and construct a nest. These ants are rapidly invading the states to the west of Texas and moving north through Oklahoma. They are accidentally transported with landscape material, construction equipment and other means.

		PAVEMENT ANTS Identification Tips Size: About 1/8-inch long Color: Brown Pavement ants get their name from living mainly under concrete. Where they live... These ants have a preference for nesting in soil next to and beneath slabs, sidewalks, patios, and driveways. Colonies are usually easy to find due to the piles of displaced soil next to and on top of pavement. Indoors, pavement ants nest under the foundation and within block foundation walls. Tips for Control These tips will help you to prevent a pavement ant infestation: Seal cracks and holes in the exterior of the home to prevent ants and other pests from entering. Keep vegetation cut away from the foundation of the home. Avoid using items such as stones and landscape timbers next to the home's foundation. Pavement ants nesting under these items are likely to infest the home. Keep layers of mulch in landscape beds no more than two inches thick and keep it pulled back away from the foundation.

		CRAZY ANTS Identification Tips Size: 1/8-inch long, with extremely long legs and antennae. Color: Black. These ants received their name from their habit of quick zigzag movements that seem to have no real direction. Where they live: These ants nest outdoors under items on the ground, in mulch, beneath bark on trees, in potted plants, and piles of wood, firewood, or bricks. Nests may be established inside homes in walls, under carpeting, and in other spaces. Tips for Control: This species may be difficult to control and does not feed much on ant baits. The keys to control are to find the colonies and sub colonies and treat them directly. Regular inspections and service are necessary to find and treat new colonies as they move in from neighboring properties.

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