The Ant Control Challenge

With more than 10,000 species now identified, the creature we know as the ant is certainly one of the most varied and abundant in the insect world. It’s also one of the most economically important: For all practical purposes, says Stoy Hedges of Terminix, 40 species of ants are known to be structural pests in the U.S., with about 12 or 13 of those species being major ant pests dealt with on a regular basis.

That’s certainly more species than the cockroach pests that PCOs deal with, yet the industry often compares the entire category of “ants” with the German cockroach when ranking the most economically important pests.

Wherever you rank ants in your business, one thing is certain: ants have become one of the most challenging pests that professionals deal with. To find out just how difficult, PCT and Zeneca Professional Products, makers of Demand CS, recently conducted a survey of PCOs to learn more about their opinions on controlling this large group of insects.

THE ANT CONTROL SURVEY. For the survey, a three-page questionnaire was sent to 450 PCOs with a 12% return. PCOs were asked about ant control trends, ant problems, and callbacks. What the results show is both interesting and enlightening (click on chart above right). More than four-fifths of those surveyed (82%) said that ant business in their area was, in fact, increasing. None of the respondents said ant business was decreasing, and only 18% said ant control business had remained static.

There were many reasons cited that could account for the increase in business, ranging from changes in construction, to unusual weather patterns, to more demanding customer attitudes.

“What has changed from last year to this year was the weather pattern we’ve had,” said Jon Stern, assistant general manager of Baron Pest Control, Bullhead City, Ariz. The additional moisture, he explained, brought more vegetation, which in turn brought more insects.

But there are other reasons for the increase too. James Molzan, president of Force Termite & Pest Control, Lyndhurst, N.J., said that perhaps economics has played a role. “The economy, up until recently, was booming,” he said, “so people don’t mind spending a few hundred dollars to get rid of some ants.” Another related reason for the apparent increase in ant work is likely the upswing in the local real estate market, Molzan said. “With all of the transactions, and all of the homes we inspect, we find some evidence of carpenter ants in a good majority of the homes,” he said.

Dr. Jim Sargent, corporate entomologist for Copesan Services, based in Brookfield, Wis., says ants have, without a doubt, become a greater customer concern, but, he adds, the diversity of the species also likely plays an important role in their prominence. He notes that comparing ant problems with German cockroach problems, for example, doesn’t seem to be appropriate since the German cockroach represents one species of cockroach, whereas “ants” represents hundreds of different species.

“One of the problems I see when you refer to ‘ant control’ is that you’re talking about a lot of species. It’s like saying ‘weeds are getting worse,’” Sargent said. “You’re talking about a big group. For example, Pennsylvania carpenter ants may be worse in one area, but another species may be worse somewhere else.” Sargent, who provides technical support for Copesan throughout North America, agrees that ant business, overall, has increased.

“I think ant business has been increasing over a fairly long period of time, perhaps 10 years,” he said. Part of the increase in the share of business, he added, may be due to decreasing flea control work, and because control methods for German cockroaches have improved over the years. But, he notes, not only has the percentage of ant business increased; its volume has also gone up.

“Ants are smart,” he explained. “They’re an example of social insects that communicate well, and when adverse conditions occur, they learn from it.” For this reason he adds, the control methods of today may not be as effective in the future. “I wouldn’t be surprised if baits don’t work as effectively in a very short number of years,” Sargent said. “Ants will continue to be a challenge and the challenge will grow for many ant species.” Sargent said the increase in landscaping work on many properties has likely played a role in the increase of ants. In addition, the use of more specific control materials may also be a factor. “We’re seeing materials primarily for use against just one species,” he said, “but there might also be some other ant species you’re dealing with for which the bait doesn’t work very well.”

CONTROL PROBLEMS WITH ANTS. The PCT/Zeneca study also indicated that nearly two-thirds of the respondents (59%) sometimes had difficulty controlling ants (click on chart above right). Only 16% of those surveyed said they commonly had difficulty, while one-fourth said they did not have difficulty at all. As far as callbacks were concerned, among respondents, the amount of callbacks ranged from 0 to 75%, with about half saying they had 5% or less callbacks on their ant work.

One reason ant control work may be so difficult, Sargent says, is that it isn’t simple work. “It requires a lot of work and time and visits,” he said. “What I hear through our Copesan network is that there are a lot of unexplained situations out there. A bait may work well on one nest but not another, at the same time of year and on the same species. The inconsistencies are really frustrating.” Further, he added, this inconsistency also can have an impact on customer relations. “Customers have their own expectations and they’re not very tolerant to our indecision or lack of confidence in these baits.”

Interestingly, the survey revealed that another reason PCOs have difficulty controlling ants is because their customers’ expectations are sometimes unreasonable. Force’s Molzan prevents this by educating customers about the expected results. “We try to explain that after the treatment, it’s still going to take three to four weeks for good results,” he said. “We also explain that ants will travel from 200 to 300 feet from other nesting areas.”

PCOs also referred to a lack of customer involvement as another hindrance to control. For example, in the survey, PCOs said some ant problems are more tenacious simply because customers won’t help with sanitation and other efforts toward harborage removal. And on the flip side of this, other PCOs said, it’s also possible for customers to be too eager with their sanitation measures.

Baron’s Stern explains that customer interference actually reduces the effectiveness of the company’s efforts. Customers can hamper control measures by cleaning up after they’ve seen ants and washing any pheromone trail away that may exist, or by contaminating any baits placed out with cleaning materials. Stern combats these tendencies with a two-step control strategy that normally involves two trips to the account. “We train our technicians to get a sample of the ant,” Stern said. “We identify the ants and then determine the best strategy to control them, whether it’s IPM, baiting or liquids.” Following these two steps is important, he adds, because if the job isn’t done right the first time, a callback is inevitable. It’s also better, Stern adds, from a customer perception standpoint. “If you come in with a game plan, customers are more than likely to let that game plan fold out,” he said. This is important, he adds, because with baiting strategies, which generally take longer to work, customers are likely to see a few ants after the PCO leaves.

In the survey, PCOs were also asked if they believed their technicians spent enough time inspecting and surveying for ants. Almost half (48%) said yes, with only 7% saying no. A little more than a third of those surveyed (36%) said their technicians sometimes spent enough time. PCOs said finding the ant nest was important, but not nearly as important as using the right products for the species of ant being dealt with.

Finding the nest, says Sargent, is still the best way to achieve control. “I am still a fundamentalist when it comes to successful ant control,” said Sargent. “I think it still holds today that you rarely get ant control until you’ve killed the queen.”

Any way you slice it, ant control appears to be one of the pest control industry’s biggest challenges, but also one of its greatest opportunities. And as far as the future is concerned, perhaps Sargent puts it best: “It will be interesting to see what the 1999 ant control season holds.”