If you are like many homeowners, you are probably wondering if you can just ignore ants in your home since they can die off anytime. You probably think that these pests only have a short lifespan. Sadly, ants can live a long time. Their lifespan depends on the species and their role in the colony.
Ants are advanced insect groups with colonies containing various kinds of castes such as soldiers, workers, males, and queens. These creatures need moisture to build their nest. In fact, they can travel distances just to get moisture. As ants forage for food, they can become annoying. Some species of ants nest in wood and may damage your home’s structures. Others bite and deliver a painful sting that often leads to swelling. In sensitive individuals, this sting can lead to allergic reactions. Ant colonies stay intact through the winter as they can hibernate. But if your home has an ant colony inside, the ants may stay active throughout the year. This makes it essential to take pest control Round Rock, TX seriously.
Keeping Ants Away from Your House
To prevent ants from infesting your home, get rid of any moisture problems. Usually, faulty drainage around gutters results in infestations. To ensure ants cannot enter your house, move them away from your space. Regular pest treatments can keep your home free of ants and other insects.
Ant Lifespan
How long ants live depends on the species and the conditions they are in. Carpenter ants are expected to live at least 7 years, thief ants, pharaoh ants, Western thatching ants, and little black ants have about one year to live. Odorous black ants can live for up to one year. These numbers refer to the worker ants. The queen ant survives the longest. She can live for decades.
Can People Outlive Ants?
The main factor in determining whether people can outlive ants is knowing their reproduction speed. Some colonies of ants have several queens, so eliminating one queen does not stop the reproduction process. A queen ant can lay hundreds of thousands of eggs within a few days. Thus, trying to outlive these creatures isn’t possible as they can grow in population. To eliminate a colony, it’s important to determine where they are nesting.
Eliminating Ants in the Yard
If ants have infested your property, you may find ant hills in the yard. Typically, the yard is the source of ant activity in your home. When ants are eradicated from the yard, your ant problem inside your house may disappear. So, find the ant hills first and eliminate them with an appropriate insecticide. Also, pouring boiling water on an ant hill will eliminate it.
After you take care of the ant hill, ensure you eliminate any conditions conducive to ant activity like standing water in the backyard. Also, ants can use firewood as a gathering area. Ensure firewood is stored at least 20 feet away from your home. Trim shrubbery and branches and keep them away from your home.
Eliminating Ants Inside Your House
Eliminating a few ants means the problem still exists. The ants found inside your home are just workers or foraging ants. Even if you kill these workers, the colony can produce new workers and your problem starts from scratch. Thus, you need to focus on finding the ant colony and identify the kind of ants you are dealing with. This will help you understand their nesting preferences. Inspect near wood piles, wood posts, tree stumps, and trees. After you eliminate the colony and ants continue to infest your home, use insecticides to kill those visible ants.
