Little Tiny Ants

Bugaboo Pest Control knows how frustrating "sugar ants" can be. Homeowners often tell us that even though they sprayed several times they just keep coming back. This is because spraying merely kills off the ones foraging for food in your kitchen. When the queen senses that these foraging ants aren't coming back with food she simply sends out another raiding party to invade your space.

WHO ARE THOSE GUYS? The word "sugar ant" is a generic term that may refer to any one of a variety of tiny home invader ants. One of the most annoying little ant in the Northwest is the "odorous house ant". They are called "odorous house ants" because when they are crushed they give off a very unpleasant odor. These ants plus many other small varieties are seen in homes and buildings often looking for sweets to take home to the nest.

Odorous House Ant Worker Odorous House Ant (Tapinoma sessile)

Description of Workers: Small workers, around 1/16-inch to 1/8-inch (2-3 mm); dark brown to black. Bitter odor when crushed - said to smell like rotten coconuts.

Habits: Most frequent structure invading ant in Washington and Oregon; nests in a wide variety of places outdoors and inside. These ants commonly construct shallow nests in soil underneath objects, such as stones, patio blocks and debris. Inside, they prefer areas with moisture such as around hot water pipes and heaters. Odorous house ants have multiple queens. The ants forage when temperatures are cool, even down to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Strongly trailing ant; it tends aphids for honeydew and prefers sweets in kitchens.

One of the most common questions we are asked is; WHERE'S HOME? Where's the nest? Home is back in Kansas. Or at least that's how it seems, since finding the nest(s) can be harder than finding a needle in a haystack. Some ants are invading from someplace outside, others might be hiding in a wall inside the structure, often with multiple nests and queens. Identifying the type of ant by the Bugaboo man will give a clue as to where look. It is very helpful to the Bugaboo technician if he can find some live ants when he arrives. By experimenting on these ants we can determine the feeding habits and appetite. Sometimes we bring along a experiment kit, with a smorgasbord of bait samples. When we find the right one, we’re off and running.

Recently new products, better than bait, have been added to our arsenal; Termidor and Phantom The active ingredient in Termidor is fipronil and it works quite differently from other pesticides. Ants and termites avoid pesticides and will walk around it. But with Termidor and Phantom they walk right through it and take it back to the nest. It is also kills termites. It’s been the most successful product we’ve used.( See label and MSDS) When insects come into contact with this product, they have not only contaminated themselves but their friends back home. Once the nest has become in contact with Termidor and Phantom the ants stop grooming themselves and attending the colony. Consequently the colony dies of neglect. Or you might say it's; "ants on meth". They take it back to the nest and WALLA! the ants are gone.

These ants are non-productive members of their society But ants on drugs (or fipronil) are a real menace to themselves. They infect each other, without the smallest of concern of what they have done.

Fipronil is the active ingredient in FRONTLINE® flea treatment for cats and dogs.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK? We have found that spraying the house with insecticide has almost no permanent affect on getting rid of the ants. Our job is to destroy all the nest in and around the house. When using contact sprays and repellents the queen will just crank out a new army, once she senses that nobody is coming home with food for her little ones back home. And lets' face it most of us would prefer not to have our home spayed with stinky poisons.

Bug bombs present even more unsatisfactory conditions since they put poison sediment on counters, walls, etc and have no residual effect.

WHAT ABOUT BAIT STATIONS? Many of our customers have found that using bait stations, (small containers containing bait) sometimes work. But that only seems to be so if the trap contains the type of bait that the ants are found of that particular day. (Ants are finicky) Most often, however, the ants ignore it. Even when the the ants do eat front the trap, the poison is so strong that the ants don't make it back to the nest. Dead ones are often found near the trap, far from the nest. If the bait is too weak, the ants don't get enough poison bait back to the queen. Within a few days, the ants are back in force. Many people are surprised to learn that many over the counter products such as Raid® pose hazards to some people.

Our Guarantee: If at any time, you are not satisfied with the services that you have been provided, you may request a cash refund, by simply notifying Bugaboo Pest Control, in writing, stating the reason for your decision. Upon receiving such notice, Bugaboo Pest Control will present you with a cash refund , within 30 days, determined on a prorated basis, for the remainder of time in this warranty or, if you prefer, we will re-treat at no charge.