Multiple points to hit pharaoh ant infestation
Pharoah ants often prove the most problematic of the ant species for pest controllers to achieve reliable results.
Western counties specialist, Ashley Helliar, Operations Director of family-owned Helliar Pest Control based in Yeovil, faced a mammoth task when called in to tackle an infestation across an accommodation block with 320 rooms spread across four floors, most of which showed signs of pharaoh ant activity.
Tenants within the block had already tried using a crawling insect spray but, as is so often the case with pharaoh ants, had simply succeeded in splintering colonies and resulted in far more widespread infestation across all floors of the block. Warm conditions within some 700 service cupboards throughout the building provided an ideal harbourage for the pharaohs.
Ashley reported a previous company’s strategy had used a dry bait methoprene, but had failed to make any significant impact on the pest population. On closer inspection, the ants appeared to have taken the bait and made stores, without actually consuming it.
Recognising the need for a different approach, in consultation with Tim Bloomer of Killgerm, Ashley opted to target the whole building from the outset with Advion Ant gel bait. That involved the placing of over 2000 bait points.
“By the time we had finished the application, the ants were out feeding on the first bait points. This was the case across the majority of the building.”
Ant bait points
He made up the bait points on visible orange stickers throughout each floor of the building, so they could be easily lifted and removed at the end of the treatment.
As only 5 to 10% of a colony’s worker pharaoh ants are typically foraging, having sufficient bait points available to target the whole nest – which could be up to 150,000 at differing life-cycle stages – is important.
Ashley added the application process to create the bait points was very precise, which was important to avoid waste and prove economic on such a huge undertaking.
Rapid control of ants
With such a large property to treat in one go, the advice would be to start laying bait points around the perimeter, or outer rooms, and work in concentric circles into the centre, to avoid further spreading the infestation. Importantly, with access to all the properties within the block, the Helliar team were able to ensure no untreated pockets were left within the building.
“Within three weeks we had achieved control across the whole building, much to the delight of the customer and all the occupiers.” Ongoing monitoring of the site on a weekly basis had revealed no further activity.
With each pharaoh ant colony typically having several queens all active and laying at the same time, having a bait that workers can readily carry back to the nest and feed is especially important.
Syngenta Technical Manager, Sean Loakes, highlighted that when foraging ants consume Advion Ant gel it doesn’t take immediate effect, but enables them to take it back to the colony in their social stomachs to share with others in the nest – including feeding the queens.
How bio-activation works
“Only once the ingested active ingredient, indoxacarb, gets into the ant’s digestive tract is it actually converted by enzymes into a toxic insecticide – a process of metabolic bio-activation; at that stage it is lethal to ants,” he advised.
“That is especially important in many situations, where Advion is not toxic to non-target organisms, such as humans or pets. Best practice would always seek to avoid contact or ingestion by non-targets, but it does provide a useful further tier of safety for customers.”
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