Ants are found all over the world, from the hottest deserts to the lush green rainforests. We can find them in our backyards, in our homes, and even in our workplaces. Ants live in colonies and a single colony may have over a million ants. There are several different types of ants. Some of the better-known varieties are the army ants, driver ants, honeypot ants, weaver ants, leafcutter ants, fire ants, silver ants, and bulldog ants. All ant colonies are comprised of three types of ants, namely the worker ants, the soldier ants, and the single queen ant.

The behavior of ants may vary according to their type. The size of ants range from two to 25 millimeters and their color may vary from red to brown or black.
Army ants and driver ants are highly evolved ants. Army ants are found in South America and driver ants are found in Africa. Unlike other ants, these do not have permanent nests. These colonies reproduce by two methods – fission or nuptial flights.

Honeypot ants generally have enlarged abdomens. They usually live in hot, dry places such as Australia, Africa, North America and they can be found in deserts as well. These ants are also considered a great delicacy.

Ants that make their nests in trees by attaching leaves together are known as weaver ants. These creatures first pull the leaves together with a bridge of workers and then they sew the leaves together by pressing silk producing larvae on the leaves.

Leafcutter ants live only within their colony and feed exclusively on fungus. These ants come in different sized castes to carry out various functions that are to be performed in the colony. Another unique type of ant is the fire ant. These ants have a sac of poison that is filled with piperidine alkaloids. The Australian bulldog ants are those with only one chromosome and these are amongst the biggest and most primitive varieties of ants.

Ants are of different types and are one of the most common creatures in the world. In spite of their small size, they may pose a threat to humans as well as animals.

Author: Josh Riverside

Ants provides detailed information on Ants, Fire Ants, Carpenter Ants, Ant Farms and more. Ants is affiliated with Cave Crickets.

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A Fighting Chance Against Ants In Your Home

No matter where you live in the United States, you have probably encountered ants in your home. In fact, with nearly 12,000 ant species roaming nearly every landmass on earth, there are few places ants have not been.

Like many insects, ants are not picky eaters. Most rely heavily on both plants and animals for food; some are especially attracted to sugary and greasy foods.

Ants can travel great distances foraging for the colony, making many foods in your home ripe for the taking. Though they normally nest outdoors, ants often enter homes searching for food, exploiting tiny cracks around doors, pipes and windows.

"All ant species are difficult to control because they’re highly adaptive and have great survival instincts," says Frank Meek, technical director for Orkin, Inc. "Unfortunately, the natural conditions in our homes-no matter how clean-provide the perfect environment for ants."

Ants perform complex social behaviors and are widely studied for their intriguing communication methods. For instance, once ants find food, they release chemicals called pheromones, which help fellow ants locate the feast.

Ants also use pheromones for self-defense. Fire ants, the reddish-brown species named for their fiery sting, emit alarm pheromones that signal nest mates to attack and defend their colony by delivering repeated stings to intruding insects, ground-nesting birds and other wildlife.

On humans, fire ant stings typically cause small blisters or pustules, which itch and burn and are prone to infection. Severe reactions can include breathing difficulty, swelling, aggravated skin disorders and sometimes death.

Fire ants are not the only ants that can disrupt health and home. Pharaoh ants, for example, can contaminate food and spread disease. Carpenter ants tunnel and nest in wood, which may cause structural damage in your home.

According to experts at Orkin, the following tips can help keep ants outdoors:

• Clean up spilled food and drinks quickly.

• Rinse drink cans before recycling.

• Store food in tightly sealed containers.

• Pick up your pet’s food at night. Don’t feed pets outdoors.

Identifying ant species is the first step in dealing with infestations, and homeowners should trust an experienced pest control professional for this difficult but critical process. A licensed company will customize treatment strategies to fit your specific ant problem.

By: Wade Gibson

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

For more information, visit www.orkin.com or call (800) 800-ORKIN. Fire ants defend their colony by delivering fiery stings, which can cause severe irritations on human skin.

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Facts About Ants

As ants are social insects, they are unable to live on their own and need to live in an organized community or colony. Here are some interesting facts about those little insects…

Ants belong to the order "Hymenoptera," and are said to be closely related to sphecid wasps. It is believed that ants first appeared during the Cretaceous period and that they had evolved from the wasps that had come out during the Jurassic period. Scientists have also estimated that ants have been living on the earth for more than a 100 million years.

More Facts About Ants

• Ants are mostly found in hot climates.
• Over 10000 known species of ants exist in the world.
• The average life span of an ant is 45 to 60 days.
• The ant has very strong legs which help it to run very quickly.
• Ants appear in shades of green, red, brown, yellow, blue or purple.
• An ant is able to lift about 20 times its own body weight.
• Adult ants are unable to swallow solid food. They depend on the juice they are able to squeeze out from pieces of food.
• An ant uses its antenna for touch as well as smell.
• Ants normally range from 2 to 7 mm in length. The carpenter ant is an exception to the rule, as it can stretch to 2 cm, or even an inch.
• There is at least one queen in each ant colony.
• An ant has two stomachs, in one stomach it stores food for itself and in the other it stores food that is to be shared with other ants.
• An ant has the largest brain amongst insects. It is said that the processing power in an ant’s brain and a Macintosh II computer might be similar.
• Some ants are able to sleep seven hours a day.
• Ants are mostly omnivorous, that is, they eat other insects, seeds, oils and bread.
• Queen ants are provided with wings at birth, they lose these wings after they fly off to start new colonies.
• Black ants and Wood ants do not have a sting, instead they are able to squirt a spray of formic acid.
• A Tropical Leafcutter ant uses its sharp outer jaw to cut leaves and make them into pulp. The pulp is later used to make fungus gardens. These gardens are looked after and harvested for food.
• Worker ants are given the responsibility of taking the rubbish from the nest and putting it into the rubbish dump.
• When a worker ant finds a source of food, it leaves a trail of scent to attract other ants in the colony to it.
• The Slave-Maker ant (Polyergus Rufescens) is so named because it raids the nest of other ants and steals their pupae. Once the pupae hatch, they are made to work as slaves within the colony.
• Around 700,000 members can be found in the colony of the Army ants (Ecitron Burchelli).

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Selecting a Pest Control Company
 by: Aldene Fredenburg 7eb

If you have a problem with unwanted pests in your home, and you’ve exhausted all the self-help remedies you know, you may be considering hiring a commercial pest control company to deal with the problem. Hiring a professional might be exactly the right solution for you; but you need to do your homework.

First, how do you locate a company? Checking the yellow pages of your local phone book might be a good start; doing a keyword search on the Internet for your area could also work, and you have the added benefit of seeing what information the company provides, on itself and on pest control generally. Ask friends and coworkers for recommendations

After you’ve developed a list of pest control services, and before you call these companies, start asking more questions of your friends and coworkers. Have any of them used these companies? What was their experience? Did the company in question solve their pest infestation issues? Were there any problems dealing with the company? Any problems in the home after the company performed their services?

Once you’ve narrowed down your list to a few potential providers, call them on the phone, and ask some more questions: does the company offer a free home evaluation and estimate of costs? Does it give you advice on what you can do to deal with the problem yourself? Is the company willing to answer questions readily?

Specific questions to ask: what kinds of chemicals are used? (If possible, have them provide written information on the chemicals.) What sorts of side effects or potential dangers do these chemicals have on family members, adults and children, and on pets? Do your family and household pets need to vacate the premises during the pest control treatment?

Make sure you ask whether the company offers nontoxic, natural pest control. The company should be willing to at least discuss the options; if its representative just dismisses the notion of nontoxic pest control without intelligently discussing the pros and cons of the natural remedies available, but just wants to get into your house and spray, beware!

With written information (or your own notes) in hand, do your own research on any chemicals that will be used – their effectiveness, their possible side effects, their potential toxicity. (The Internet is a great place to start for this.) If you have family members with serious health issues, particularly asthma or other respiratory ailments, make sure you know what the potential effect of sprayed compounds could have on them.

Finally, if you have any questions about the company’s reliability, and you can’t find anyone you know and whose judgment you trust to vouch for them, contact your local or state Better Business Bureau or Consumer Fraud Division, to find out whether there have been any complaints lodged against them.

Once you’ve hired a company, make sure you know who is going to be showing up at your home and when. Make sure they have proper I.D., and ask if you can be there to supervise the process or if you have to leave, and for how long. And while you’ve got access to the professional treating your home, ask what you can do to avoid pest control problems in the future, particularly those involving destructive carpenter ants and termites. The guy (or gal) who actually does the work probably has insights into the subject that the office staff doesn’t have.

About The Author

Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern New Hampshire and frequently contributes to Tips and Topics. She has published numerous articles in local and regional publications on a wide range of topics, including business, education, the arts, and local events. Her feature articles include an interview with independent documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and a feature on prisoners at the New Hampshire State Prison in Concord. She may be reached at amfredenburg@yahoo.com.

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Please contact me at  admin@getridofcarpentersants.com!

I will reply to all messages as soon as possible.
The Carpenter Ant Team

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Get Rid of Carpenter Ants is dedicated to providing quality information on finding and getting rid of carpenter ants in your home or business.

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The Carpenter Ant Team

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