South East Queensland is home to a wide variety of ant species. Australia, as a whole, has nearly 1300 different species! Some of these are significant pests as they come in conflict with our homes and gardens in their never-ending search for food and habitat. A professional inspection is necessary to determine what types of ants a given property is dealing with.
Ants will find their way into buildings in a search for food and water. Once found, they will stay and create nests in buildings, homes and gardens. The search for food varies with different species, as each have their own preference. In dry times, they search indoors for the slighest amount of moisture. When the bounty has been found, many species will call their colony mates via a chemical signal to help gather the food and return it to the nest. This can result in large numbers of ants emerging quite rapidly.
Ants sometimes leave evidence of their invasion along their points of entry into buildings. Many times the only visible evidence is the presence of the ants themselves foraging around inside buildings near food and water sources. Ants are attracted to both stored food and standing or dripping water as well as food waste and refuse.
Ants can transmit bacteria and viral contamination to the food stored inside your home or business. Ants move rapidly from outdoors to indoors where they can find food, and they track in microorganisms from every surface they contact along the way. Ants also open up points of entry into buildings when they find cracks along baseboards and window casings that they can exploit. These pathways then become openings to various other insect pests. As ants are also a direct food source for other predator insects, birds, and animals, their presence around and inside buildings attracts various other pest species.
Some ants can create an unsightly mess around carpet edges, window frames, bathrooms, and kitchens, as well as causing problems by damaging gardens, affecting electrical outlets and switches and also by helping themselves to food in your pantry.
In Brisbane, Green Headed Ants (green ants) can give a very painful sting and in some cases cause anaphylactic shock, but other species, such as Coastal Brown Ants pose little more problem than being a nuisance at times. With colonies being very social and structured with kings, queens, workers, and reproductive ants, knowing the type of ant you have, as well as where the nests are located is paramount when determining a treatment method.
If you have ants on your property or inside of your buildings and structures, contact us for professional inspection and treatments to eliminate active infestations and for management to prevent future infestation. We will carefully advise you regarding safe and effective methods for elimination and exclusion of ants from your property.
Let Auswise Pest Control upset the ants having a picnic in your home and garden! Call on us today for more information on ant control and management.