Why Your Store-Bought Ant Spray Isn’t Working
We’ve all done it. You see a trail of ants marching through the kitchen, so you grab the spray can stashed under the sink – the one you bought on sale at the hardware store – and carpet bomb the invading army into oblivion. You watch with smug satisfaction as the advancing force stops dead in its tracks – literally – then put the insecticide back where it belongs, confident you won’t be needing it again any time soon.
But then, the next day, you catch another, even bigger army of ants advancing through the kitchen. You fetch the spray can again, only this time you scan the instructions, looking for where it says, “rinse and repeat.” “Am I supposed to use this like shampoo?” you ponder, as you annihilate this new battery of invaders just like the last.
Then, again the next day, the ants are back in even greater numbers than ever before. And then the next, and the next, and the next. Now you’re ready to toss that worthless can of pesticide in the trash. What’s going on here?
You’ve been outmaneuvered by a more sophisticated enemy than you realized you were up against, that’s what. While you were busy fighting one-off battles, the ant colony that keeps invading your home was waging a war.
The first rule in the ant playbook: you don’t put your best soldiers on the front lines.
Strategic Deployment = Ongoing Engagement
Those ants you’ve been celebrating victory over? Those are called scout ants. Other ranks include worker ants, soldier ants and, of course, the almighty queen ant. As you might imagine, worker ants are brawnier, and soldier ants more aggressive, which means scout ants are often older, weaker members of the colony whose lives, to be blunt, are expendable.
Colonies are organized into such a hierarchy in order to protect the queen, who, as the sole egg-layer, is literally the queen mother of her colony. Without her, the whole colony would perish, thus the survival of every member is dependent on her.
And what a busy mom she is. In just a few days, a queen ant can lay as many as 300,000 eggs. That’s why ant colonies are never short on new recruits, and why knocking out a platoon of scout ants in your kitchen does almost no damage to the colony as a whole.
As simple as ants may seem, the truth is their social structure and collective behavior is as complex as anything in the animal kingdom, which is why it usually takes a specially-trained, licensed pest management professional to truly conquer them.
Fight Back with Professional Maneuvers
Certified pest control pros use their keen understanding of ant colonies and behaviors to effectively control them, using special bait that only licensed professionals have access to.
By strategically placing the bait, pest control pros know how to trick the worker ants into feeding it to the rest of the colony, including the queen, which will inevitably lead to the demise of the colony and ultimately give you back the throne to your home and fortress.
Your home is your castle – not theirs. Let us help you win it back. Learn more about this pest and request a free quote on our website.
