Perimeter Jockeys Vs. Baseboard Jockeys

For many years, pest control operators have believed that ants, cockroaches and other creepy crawlers could be effectively stopped with a perimeter treatment of the structure. They were advised to “just follow the label and treat 6 to 10 feet around a building and 3 feet off the base of the wall.” Very often this worked. However, I now believe it to be a Myth Conception that total coverage of a band around the exterior perimeter always creates an effective barrier for these pests.

I had assumed that PCOs would use a microencapsulated material to treat a 6- to 10-foot band as labeled to the exterior of the structure. My observations in the field in several areas indicate otherwise. Perhaps, due in part to competitive pressures, I observed as little as 3 feet being actually treated and PCOs used only conventional emulsions. During hot, wet spells, when insects flourish, the toxicant degrades more rapidly and shortens the chemical’s residual life.

I also assumed without thinking that infestations came from “anywhere and everywhere.” I now realize that they originate from specific sites. If these sites are recognized and treated with sufficient pesticide, widespread use of toxicants could be drastically reduced to the delight of IPM practitioners. Perhaps the demand for total curtailment of pesticides would be lessened.

After reading Stoy Hedges’ Field Guide for the Management of Structure-Infesting Ants, I realized how futile we were in trying to destroy a large, mature super-colony of multi-queen ants with insufficient bait. Surviving satellites of the colony easily bud off to relocate and return if conditions are conducive. Hedges states “if an effort is not made to find and eliminate the ant colony or colonies, a perimeter treatment will provide only temporary relief for the customer.” According to Hedges, pockets of ant colonies indoors become more active when cut off from parent colonies outside.

With some species, such as Argentine, crazy, white-footed and odorous house ants, regular, complete perimeter treatments are not recommended, especially using pyrethroids. Instead, targeted applications to sites where ant colonies are located usually provide the best results.

PERIMETER JOCKEYS. I believe it is time now to consider “perimeter jockeys” in the same light as “baseboard jockeys.” I realized this when I was testing J.T. Eaton’s new Dr. Moss’s Liquid Ant Bait in evenly spaced placements around my 56-unit condo complex. Six of the apartments were infested with white-footed ants and I hoped to attract the outdoor foragers with bait before they entered the building. Only two of the 20 bait stations attracted them and these were near trees that were infested with honeydew-producing insects.

Kenny Steinlage, head of the pest control division, Century Maintenance in Century Village, Deerfield Beach, Fla., agreed to test my theory. He is plagued with calls about white-footed and other species of ants in the 67 condo buildings that he services.

He has consented to treat 10 of the buildings in the conventional way, i.e. with a monthly spray of the turf around the building and treatment inside infested apartments with Drione or TriDie in selected sites annually. Kenny gave up trying to bait indoors because residents insisted on quick results and had no patience to listen to a PCO’s lecture.

With 10 similar buildings, for comparison, he plans to treat the exterior by first refraining from spraying the barrier band surrounding the condo building and then placing Whitmire Micro-Gen Research Laboratories’ new bait station filled with Dr. Moss’s Liquid Ant Bait only in spots along trails of the ants.

To locate these sites, the technician will circle the building and place small amounts of the bait in all spots conducive for ants. These include the base of trees and bushes, overwatered mulch beds, air conditioning drain outlets, roof water drain pipes, etc. On the second round, the bait stations filled with 8 or l2 ounces of bait (depending on species) will be placed where ants are feeding. Then, he’ll spray only the trunks of trees and bushes within 20 feet of the structure to control honeydew-producing insects — the reason they are there in the first place.

Finally, Steinlage will monitor these stations to refill or reposition the stations monthly or sooner. Bait will be replaced monthly. (I have found that the month-old bait placed next to fresh bait was ignored by the ants. Apparently enough moisture is lost in hot weather through the entrance holes.) Steinlage keeps excellent records of callbacks on the computer and will be able to determine in three or four months if the perimeter jockey is better than the old baseboard jockey. I’ll keep you posted.

Harry Katz, a contributing editor to PCT, may be contacted at Berkshire E-3076, Deerfield Beach FL 33442, 954/427-9716.