Ants

• Poor sanitation is the primary cause of ant infestations when inside a house. Leaving dirty dishes in the sink, food scraps on countertops, crumbs on the floor and not frequently emptying bins provide great food sources for sugar & oil feeding ants. What starts with a few foragers entering a home can become a major problem if ants establish colonies in wallcavities, lawns, or under home foundations.
• One of the biggest problems related to ants in the home is food contamination. Ants carry bacteria on their bodies, which spreads when they crawl in cupboards and across countertops.

Some species, like carpenter and fire ants, cause additional problems. A carpenter ant infestation can do damage by chewing tunnels through wood beams. Although nothing like termites, carpenter ants can still do significant damage to rotted out timber. Fire ant stings that involve envenomation can cause serious pain and more serious symptoms that often result in allergic reactions to some people who are hyper-sensitive to ant stings. Although uncommon in NSW, they can still be an uncommon issue sometimes.

Adult ants species come in a variety of shapes and sizes but each will be one of three different colony castes; queens, workers or males. Queens are fertile females that lay all the eggs in a colony. Workers are wingless females that gather food, feed larvae, maintain the nest, defend the colony, and do not reproduce. Male ants are winged and their only job is to mate with the queens during the swarming process.