Carpenter | Fire | Ghost | Acrobat | Crazy | Pharaoh

Ants are one of the nuisance insects. They live in colonies of hundreds. Most of the ants you see in your home are foraging ants looking for food to take back to the nest. If you kill ants that are foraging the colony, it is not effected even though you may kill a few ants more ants will find their way on to your counters. At Lindsey Pest Control we closely inspect to find the ants and ant trails, identify the ant species, and then proceed with baiting to solve the ant problem. Foraging ants take food back to the colony, which is fed to larva, and the queen. To effectively control ant populations the proper bait needs to be taken back to the nest and fed to the larva and queen. This eliminates the colony and solves the ant infestation.

In the Jacksonville area there are many species of ants but only a few are nuisance ants. The ants we deal with on a regular bases are - Carpenter, Fire, Ghost, Argentene, Acrobat, Crazy, Pharaoh, Sugar - Ants.

Carpenter ant: Camponotus floridanus
The carpenter ant nests are usually in hollowed out wood. Usually the wood is water damaged. They will travel up to 100 yards to forage; they have several satellite nests with the queen usually in the main nest.

Fire ant: `Solenopsis invicta
Mounds oval in shape and many mounds can be interconnected.. Mounds in lawns up to 18 inches tall where the lawn mower has not mowed them. Mowing keeps them at 3 inches. Your lawn can have many mounds, some are visible many are not. For fire ant control at Lindsey Pest Control we use specialized bait that is broadcast over the entire area to be taken back into the various mounds and kill the queens and larva within the nest. Mound treating usually only moves the nest a few feet to reemerge a few days later. Because to the way they breed and spread a constant program is usually necessary to keep them out of your property and home.

Crazy ant: Paratrechina longicornis
Crazy ant is known for its rapid and erratic movement. The antenna has 12 segments with the scope 3 times the width of the head. Long legs cause erratic movement. Shallow nests outside, they move nests often so several colonies may be around structures. They like living under rocks, cement, lawn timbers, mulch, and usually invade the home to forage for food but keep nests outside.

Pharaoh ant: Monomorium pharaonis
This ant lives almost exclusively in or adjacent to structures of man. Most numerous around areas where high temperature and humidity prevail. It is a small reddish ant that lives in the walls of homes. Spraying ants will cause the nest to be moved and additional colonies of pharaoh ants will spring up.

Ghost ant: Tapinoma melanocephalum
Smallest ant we work with, the abdomen and legs are translucent. The ant colony expands by budding creates many colonies in and around a structure. When you see this ant it is so small it looks like a piece of pepper walking across your counter. They trail one following behind the other. A complete inspection is needed to find all the trails and colonies and then elimination through baiting is necessary.

Acrobat ant: Crematogaster
These ants are tiny black ants with an abdomen shaped like a heart. When you see them they raise their abdomen over the head and thorax. They like living in branches and stems of trees, rotten logs and stumps. Feed on insects and honeydew from leaf scale and aphids. They are usually only seen outside, when conditions are right they can forage inside for sweets. Treatment is usually required inside and out.