This document provides an overview of a webinar on ant management. It includes presentations from several experts on identifying common ant species, including pharaoh ants, carpenter ants, and odorous house ants. The document discusses the biology and behavior of different ant species, challenges in their control, and strategies for integrated pest management, including sanitation, monitoring, baiting, and targeted use of insecticides. Identification resources and extension materials for ant management are also listed.

1. Ant Management
WEBINAR
Fudd Graham, Janet Hurley, Dan Suiter, Karen Vail, Mike Merchant
eXtension USDA/NIFA
Auburn University, Texas A&M University, University of Georgia,
University of Tennessee, Texas AgriLife Extension

2. Ant Management
Managing Problems with Pharaoh Ants
Dr. Michael Merchant,
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Professor and Extension Urban Entomologist
m-merchant@tamu.edu

3. IDENTIFYING ANTS
 Sometimes confused with
other insects
 Pinched waist
 One or two pedicels
(nodes) between thorax
and abdomen
 Elbow joint in the antennae
(except in some males)

4. MICROSCOPE OR HAND LENS?
 Hand lens OK
for most pest ants

5. BASIC ANT ANATOMY
Thorax
Petiole (nodes)
{
Gaster
{

6. BASIC ANT ANATOMY
Petiole (nodes)

7. PETIOLE SHAPE AND NUMBER
Number of nodes used in identification
60X magnification

8. PETIOLE (SINGLE, POINTED)
Single node with peak
60X magnification

9. POLYMORPHISM
 When ant workers of the same species vary in size and shape
 Majors and minors
minor workers major workers female reproductive

10. OTHER CHARACTERS USED TO
IDENTIFY ANTS
 Nesting sites
 Mound construction/ appearance
 Foraging behavior
 Defensive behavior

11. RECOGNIZING REPRODUCTIVE ANTS
Elbowed antennae
Un-equal
length
wings
Pinched waist

12. PHARAOH ANTS
Queen
Worker
Pharaoh ants

13. CHALLENGES OF PHARAOH ANT CONTROL
• Tramp species
• Polygyne, synanthropic, easily
transported
• Rapid development time
• 22-48 days (egg-adult)
• Reproductive strategy
• Nest division, rapid spread to new
sites, not fussy about nesting sites
(indoors and outdoors)
• Difficult to control
• Baits, sprays

14. NESTING SITES
 Indoors
 Walls
 Cardboard boxes
 Drawers
 Storage areas
 Follow electrical lines
 Indoor colonies frequently
forage outside in warm
season

15. BAITS
 Use baits tested against
Pharaoh ants such as
 Advion Ant Bait Arenas
 Maxforce Ant Bait Stations
 (Sugar-based baits)
 Place where ants active but
unreachable by children
 Avoid use of cleaning chemicals or
insecticides around stations
 Store baits away from chemicals
 Handle with clean hands

16. look along structural guidelines

17. TIPS FOR BAITING
 Warmer times of year – bait
outdoors
 Outdoors : monitor window
sills, entrances and exits,
water spigots, ac/heat units,
attic vents, etc.

19. RESIDUAL INSECTICIDES
Avoid fast-acting sprays
Photo by Alex Wild

 Permethrin
 Cyfluthrin
 Deltamethrin
 Bifenthrin
 Slow-acting, non-repellent sprays
OK
 Chlorfenapyr (Phantom) indoors
 Fipronil (Termidor) outdoors

20. Ant Management
Carpenter Ants: Biology and Baiting
Dr. Dan Suiter,
University of Georgia
Department of Entomology
University of Georgia Griffin Campus
1109 Experiment Street
Griffin, GA 30223-1797

21. CARPENTER ANTS
 Nest in Knots in Hardwood Trees

22. CARPENTER ANTS CONSTRUCT
PERMANENT TRAILS

23. CARPENTER ANTS CONSTRUCT
PERMANENT TRAILS

24. CARPENTER ANTS FOLLOW
STRUCTURAL GUIDELINES

25. CARPENTER ANTS
ARE ACTIVE AT NIGHT

26. Number of Ants
100
200
300
400
500
0
3:00
6:00
9:00
Ants
Midnight
3:00
6:00
9:00
Light
Noon
3:00
Time of Day
6:00
9:00
Midnight
3:00
6:00
CARPENTER ANTS FORAGE MAINLY AT NIGHT
9:00
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
Light (lumens/sqft)

27. CARPENTER ANTS ARE SOMETIMES ACTIVE
DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS
500
500
July 5th
Ants counted per hour
400 July 2nd
300
200
100
0
3:00 6:00 9:00 Noon 3:00 6:00
a.m. a.m. a.m. p.m. p.m.
Time

28. CARPENTER ANTS ARE BEST CONTROLLED WITH
BAITS

29. BAIT CARPENTER ANT NEST SITES
 Deliver Granular & Gel Baits from Piles
Ants foraging indoors Hardwood
from a nest in a tree outside Tree
Permanent
Trail
Nest in Tree

30. OPTIGARD CARPENTER ANT BAIT GEL
(0.01% THIAMETHOXAM)

31. ADVION ANT BAIT GEL
(0.05% INDOXACARB)

32. ADVANCE GRANULAR CARPENTER ANT BAIT
(0.011% ABAMECTIN B1)

33. MAXFORCE CARPENTER ANT BAIT GEL (0.001%
FIPRONIL)
MAXFORCE CARPENTER ANT BAIT GEL
(0.001% FIPRONIL)

34. MAXFORCE CARPENTER ANT BAIT GEL
(0.001% FIPRONIL)

35. MAXFORCE CARPENTER ANT BAIT GEL
(0.001% FIPRONIL)

36. MAXFORCE CARPENTER ANT BAIT GEL
(0.001% FIPRONIL)

37. MAXFORCE CARPENTER ANT BAIT GEL (0.001%
FIPRONIL)

38. THE KEY TO CARPENTER ANT CONTROL
The Key to Carpenter Ant Control is
to Find and Remove the Colony
Given The Quality of Today’s
Carpenter Ant Baits…
…Think Elimination!

39. Ant Management
How Can You Tell if You Have
Odorous House Ants?
Karen M. Vail, Ph.D
University of Tennessee
Entomology and Plant Pathology
Professor
kvail@utk.edu

40. ANTS
 Ants are the number 1 urban pest in the United
States generating an estimated $1.7 billion annually
for pest management professionals (Curl 2005)
in Field, Klotz, Rust and Kupfer (PCT [Ant Control] on Target 3/26/2007)
Curl, G. 2005. A strategic analysis of the U.S. structural pest control industry – The 2005
season. A survey of Pest Management Professionals in the U.S., Gary Curl, Specialty
Products Consultants.

41. WHY HAVE ANTS BECOME SUCH A
DOMINANT PEST?
 Structures placed in ants’ habitat
 Society less tolerant
 Some tramp species more difficult to control
 Others?
(Cooper 2004, PCT Ant Summit)

42. EXPLORING AMERICA'S #1 NUISANCE PEST 2011 NATIONAL
NPMA SURVEY RESULTS BY DR. LAUREL HANSEN, JIM FREDERICKS, AND MISSY
HENRIKSEN
http://www.pestworld.org/news-and-views/pest-articles/articles/ant-survey-executive-summary/

43. EXPLORING AMERICA'S #1 NUISANCE PEST 2011 NATIONAL
NPMA SURVEY RESULTS BY DR. LAUREL HANSEN, JIM FREDERICKS, AND MISSY
HENRIKSEN
 Ants on the Rise
 54% PMPs claim ant infestations on rise
 57% have seen more infestations of odorous house
ants
 No other species mentioned nearly as often, suggests
OHA main cause of the growing problem

44. OHA FOUND COAST TO COAST AND
SEA LEVEL TO MOUNTAINS
OHA hot spots

45. ODOROUS HOUSE ANT
TAPINOMA SESSILE
 Small, 1/8 inch, dark brown ant
 One-segmented waist, lacks bump
 Slit-like opening
 Smells of rotten coconut when
crushed
 Monomorphic

46. 5 dorsal segments
 Technomyrmex difficilis,
difficult ant, formerly known as
the white-footed ant
 Tapinoma sessile,
Odorous house ant
4 dorsal segments

47. Bump on waist
 Linepithema humile,
Argentine ant
 Tapinoma sessile,
Odorous house ant
Tapinoma sessile,
Odorous house ant

48. 2 seg-waist
 Tetramorium caespitum,
Pavement ant
 Tapinoma sessile,
Odorous house ant
4 dorsal segments

49. 2 seg-waist
 Crematogaster sp., Acrobat
ant
 Tapinoma sessile,
Odorous house ant
4 dorsal segments

50. 2 seg-waist
 Pheidole sp., Big-headed ant
 Tapinoma sessile,
Odorous house ant
4 dorsal segments

51.  Nylanderia sp., Crazy ants
Circular opening at end of abdomen
 Tapinoma sessile,
Odorous house ant
4 dorsal segments

52. OHA WORKER AND QUEENS

53. NESTING SITES

54. NESTING SITES

55. NESTING SITES

56. NESTS UNDER OUTDOOR GARBAGE CAN

57. NESTING SITES

58. NESTING SITES

59. NESTING SITES

61. NEST MOVEMENT/SITE SELECTION
 Workers move brood to shaded
nest sites after disturbance.
 Over time, workers will move and
brood will be moved to areas of
higher moisture.
 Workers will move and relocate
brood closer to food over 1m and
6m distances.

62. OHA ACTIVITY NEAR STRUCTURES
 OHA abundance is higher within 10
ft of structures
 OHA found near leaf litter along
with presence of
logs, boards, and/or landscape
timbers

64. TACTILE CUES
 Guidelines
 Ridges
 Edges
 Grooves

65. NESTING SITES
 Indoors
 Kitchen and bathrooms
 Walls
 Cabinets
 Drawers
 Under sinks, toilets, etc.
 Near garbage
(bathrooms, classrooms, kitchens)
 Storage areas
 Follow pipes/electrical lines/other lines
 Mainly outdoor colonies, but may
forage and nest indoors

68. INDOOR OHA FED RED OR BLUE SUGAR WATER.

69. OUTDOOR OHA DYE DETERMINATION AT HOURLY
INTERVALS.

70. AFTER 2 HOURS, DYED ANTS WERE FOUND
OUTDOORS.

71. WHY DO PESTS ENTER?

72. MANAGEMENT
1. Identify (and collection)
2. Correct conducive conditions indoors and outdoors through
Sanitation & Pest Proofing (remove access to food [including
honeydew producers], water and shelter [nest sites])
3. Monitor, inspect and locate nests
4. Bait areas of activity
5. Treat nests
6. Treat perimeter, entry ways and areas of activity
7. Combine above

73. SANITATION/CULTURAL CONTROL
 Clean spills promptly
 Store food properly
 Remove waste reg.
 Clean waste cans
 Place dumpsters/cans away from school
 Fix leaks quickly
 Wipe trails with cleaner
 Trim vegetation
 Move mulch away
 Replace landscape timbers
 Remove debris that retains moisture
 Seal entry points

74. CHEMICAL CONTROL
 Baits
 Cracks and crevices where
ants active
 Sweet or protein baits (NOT
oil for OHA)
 Reduce food competition
with bait
 Do not apply fast-acting
sprays near baits
 Do not disturb ants foraging
to baits

75. GEL BAITS IN CRACKS AND CREVICES

77. GEL BAITS IN CRACKS AND CREVICES
 Rebait after 4 wk
reading
using the Ant &
Roach Buffet
Station

78. TERMIDOR OUTSIDE AND PHANTOM INSIDE
Bradshaw Interior Treatment
NPD sprayer provided by
Raymond Meyers
RJMContracting.com
Indoor applications made by
Kyle Lundy

79. INTERIOR PYRETHROID TREATMENT ONLY OF SPRAY
AND DUST C & C NOT VERY EFFECTIVE AGAINST
OHA

80. MANAGEMENT
1. Identify (and collection)
2. Correct conducive conditions indoors and outdoors through
Sanitation & Pest Proofing (remove access to food [including
honeydew producers], water and shelter [nest sites])
3. Monitor, inspect and locate nests
4. Bait areas of activity
5. Treat nests
6. Treat perimeter, entry ways and areas of activity
7. Combine above

81. IDENTIFICATION RESOURCES
 Ant Web
 http://www.antweb.org/
 Ants (Formicidae) of the
Southeastern US Website
 http://mississippientomologi
calmuseum.org.msstate.ed
u//Researchtaxapages/For
micidaehome.html
 eXtension.org and local
Extension sources

82. ANT ID & MANAGEMENT RESOURCES
EXTENSION AGENTS/SPECIALISTS
Distance Diagnostics

83. ANT ID & MANAGEMENT RESOURCES
 PestIdentification Guide
for Pests In and Around
Structure $12.00
 http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en
/environment/insects/structural
/Pesticide-Identification-Guide-
for-Pests-In-and-Around-
Buildings.htm
 PCT Field Guide $12.95
 www.pctonline.com

84. ANT ID & MANAGEMENT RESOURCES

85. SCHOOL IPM ACTION PLAN FOR TRAMP ANTS
 http://www.extension.org/pa
ges/20993/school-ipm-
action-plan-for-tramp-ants

86. Ant Management
Where you can find Urban IPM
Pest Management in and Around Structures
kimtag.com/urbanipm