Bait, Spray and Pray

PCOs who do NOT live in Florida or Hawaii should be thankful that they do not presently face the white-footed ant. It is a Myth Conception, however, that PCOs in other states won’t be facing these little devils in the near future. Until three years ago, they were not recognized as a serious pest in Broward County, Fla. Today, it is the scourge of almost every community in the county.

In an article published in a local weekly paper, The City Link, PCOs from prominent pest control firms described their problems in controlling this nuisance pest. Horror stories of frantic efforts were described by Al Adams and Howie Bachrack of Accent Pest Control, Barry Murray and Tony Gentile of Truly Nolen and Troy Campana of ACRO. Campana said, “There’s not a whole lot of hope in sight right now. We don’t know what fashion to go attacking them.” Barbara Harley of Van Waters & Rogers said, “We’ve seen them in houses piled up against the baseboard. I’ve seen outside walls that looked like a neon sign, moving.” Research entomologists at the University of Florida, Drs. Betty Ferster and Tom Weissling, were quoted about the enormous populations and difficulties in controlling them.

ON THE MOVE. Already present in counties north and south of Broward, I anticipate a rapid spread into other states given their ability to readily adapt to many environments. All it takes is the transport of a small satellite colony of white-footed ants that has been separated from its parent colony. The tiny contingent of workers with one of their many queens in a transported package or plant can quickly develop into a mature colony with many queens. All the colony needs is sustained moisture and warmth. They can feed on almost anything, according to Dr. Weissling. “Leave a piece of food out overnight, come back in the morning and it is covered with ants,” he said.

A botanical garden in Montreal, Canada, was infested with this ant that was brought in with plants from Florida. Considering the heavy movement of commodities and people travelling north, I believe that it is just a matter of months before this species will be invading other states. It seems to me that PCOs everywhere should be especially alert to properly identify every ant species they are called on to control. An excellent description of Technomyrmex albipes, the white-footed ant, can be found on page 149 of Stoy Hedges’ Field Guide for the Management of Structure-Infesting Ants, 2nd edition. Distinguishing features are the pale yellow (not white) tarsal segments and a flattened single node that is hard to see. It resembles the odorous house ant, except for the white-footed ant’s darker (brown/black) color. It is about 1/8th inch (3 mm) long and it also resembles the crazy ant except that the legs and the first segment of the antenna are much shorter.

I have had success in killing small colonies of the white-footed ant in my area with large doses of J.T. Eaton’s Dr. Moss’s liquid ant bait applied for several weeks. Super-size colonies are a different matter, as all of our pest controllers are finding out.

Alert pest control operators throughout the U.S. could slow their spread by recognizing a white-footed ant infestation and taking the steps needed to control them. In my opinion, these measures should include: (1) dusting cracks and crevices in infested area indoors with a pyrethrin/desiccant; (2) spraying trees and bushes near the building to control sap sucking/honeydew-producing insects; and (3) placing large capacity bait stations with a liquid bait that substitutes for their natural diet of honeydew in their paths. Until more testing is done, I’ll call this the “bait, spray and spray” method of controlling these ants. This perimeter baiting/bush spraying technique has, in limited testing in my community, also been effective in eliminating carpenter ants, ghost ants, crazy ants, fire ants and Pharaoh ants.

Katz may be contacted at 954/427-9716.