Q.
We have a customer who insists upon nonchemical pest control in her home. Since she has never really had a serious pest problem, it hasn't been difficult for us to use vacuum cleaners and exclusion as the primary pest control strategy.Recently she began seeing pharaoh ants in her kitchen. We have seen these ants on the exterior of the home on the wall common with the kitchen.
We have asked this customer whether it would be all right to utilize pyrethroids on the outside of the structure or whether we could use baits on the inside. She has forbidden the use of chemicals.
Obviously, we can't vacuum up enough ants or seal up cracks and crevices so tight that they won't enter. So what else can we do in this situation?
A.
If this customer's house has been pest-free and has only recently experienced an infestation of pharaoh ants, I suspect weather patterns have moved the ants indoors primarily for water or moisture. It may also mean that their primary food source outdoors was depleted.You may want to try giving the ants what they want. For example, watering the exterior of the building regularly may allow enough moisture to accumulate there to provide the ants with the moisture they require and be conducive to whatever food source the ants have been using on the exterior.
Obviously the ants were living somewhere before they moved into your customer's house. Since climatic changes have become severe in the central part of the country with regard to drought and heat, there is a chance that providing the ants with the resources they need on the exterior will at least reduce the likelihood that they will forage inside the house.
You may even want to try feeding them peanut butter and a protein source. One source of protein that I have found works well with some ant species is liverwurst, which can be purchased at any grocery store.
Since these materials will not be placed to kill or control the ants, there would be no need for them to be registered as pesticides. We are simply attempting to feed the ants in an environment that is tolerable to the customer.
Additionally, I would not discourage the use of physical means to remove the ants, and continuing to seal up cracks, crevices and entryways that the ants have been using.
Jeffrey Tucker, a contributing editor to PCT magazine, is president of Entomology Associates, a pest management consulting firm based in Houston. If you have a question for him, write: PCT Questions & Answers, c/o Entomology Associates, P.O. Box 70375, Houston TX 77270, or fax your question to 713/681-9069.