What is a Pharaoh's Ant?
The workers of this species of ant are only around 2 mm in length, with the queen being larger between 3 and 4 mm long, while the males are around 3 mm. The colouration of the workers is light yellow to red with a darkish abdomen. The characteristic of the Pharaoh's ant appearance is the double 'waist' known as the pedicel, which in fact constitutes the first segments of the abdomen.
The multi-nesting behaviour of this species means that if one area of the building is infested, there is the likelihood of extensive spread throughout the building. Areas of high temperature and humidity are favoured by Pharaoh's ants where they attack human foods such as fruit, jam, sugar, meat, etc. There is evidence that the ant may be involved in the mechanical transmission of some disease-causing agents.
How do you know if you have them? Pharaoh’s Ants are easy to spot as they are different in colour to the normal Garden Ant. In buildings you will find them foraging for food in kitchens around bins and food which has been left out. Because of their small size they can be a considerable nuisance in the food preparation premises, hospitals etc.
Where will you find them?
In domestic buildings you will find these ants widespread in the kitchens, bathrooms and in boiler cupboards and heating ducts. In commercial premises they are normally located in warm and humid areas.
How do we control Pharaoh Ants?
Our treatment programme for Pharaoh ants consists of four visits spread over an eight week period.
Once on site our technician will initially talk through the problems you are experiencing and explain what our initial treatment entails.
He will then carry out a thorough inspection of your premises prior to any treatment and assess the level and extent of the infestation.
The use of residual insecticides against Pharaoh's ants is not recommended as this will almost certainly cause worker ants to form satellite colonies and thus actively spread an infestation deeper into the building.
Granular or gel baits are available for Pharaoh ant control. These are laid where the ants are actively foraging and particularly with this ant species, treatment of adjacent properties may also be advisable. The insecticide works by interfering with the lifecycle of the colony, preventing the fertility of new eggs and not replacing the workers dying at the end of their lifecycle.
It is important that you do not use any household insecticide sprays prior to any treatment as this can affect the eradication process.
The follow up
Our first follow up is carried out after one week. The baits are normally taken very quickly and need to be replaced immediately. This visit will also highlight the main areas of infestation and allow our technician to adjust the treatment accordingly increasing or reducing the baits as required.
Once our treatment is done the technician will complete an inspection report and leave this with you, our technician will then arrange a convenient time to carry out further follow up visits accordingly.
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