Highland Village and Flower Mound has the Craziest Ants ever.
Very long antennae and legs compared to body
First antennal segment about twice as long as head
Slender, dark brown to black body with gray sheen/luster
One Node segment
Uneven thorax
12 segment antennae, no club
Thorax lacks spines, profile unevenly rounded
Circular ring of hair at end of abdomen
No stinger
Monomorphic workers 1/16 to 1/8 inch long
The Crazy ant is not as crazy looking as the picture above, however and with that said, their actions are psychopathic. Many people here in Texas call them Rasberry crazy ants and others refer to them as Tawny crazy ants, but Texans call them crazy ants. The ants first appeared in the United States in 2002 but have become more of a menace in the past few years, spreading to many areas of the Gulf Coast, particularly Texas and Florida. The ants are obnoxious because they reproduce in large numbers, sometimes outnumbering all other ants 100-to-1. Nest Site/Characteristics: Crazy ants are noted for their erratic movements. They appear to be lost and confused. Colonies tend to be small, with up to 2000 workers and 8-40 queens. The presence of numerous interconnected colonies may result in larger infestations. Colonies may spontaneously abandon one nest site and move to another. Inside, crazy ants usually nest under floors and in wall voids, frequently near hot water pipes and heaters. Workers follow trails of up to 100 feet to forage for food. Outside, nest are shallow and in soil under objects or in plant cavities, trees, trash, refuse, mulch and potted plants. Crazy ants enter home in the fall or after rain when honeydew supplies are reduced. Crazy ants are CRAZY over technology! Well not really the technology side of cell phones, laptops and other electrical devises, more so the cavities inside them provide nice nesting sites. As you can imagine their bodies cause these units to short out. On one occasion I arrived at my customers house in Coppell TX. for an issue with Indian Meal Moths; she met me at the door and apologized because her AC unit "was on the fritz", but explained the repairman was on his way. Having an electrical background and a working knowledge of HVAC, I told her I would look at it as I did my customary exterior inspection prior to addressing the interior moth situation. Long story short, she didn't need the repairman, it was a pest control issues........ANTS>
Feeding Preferences: Crazy Ants prefer insects and sweets, but will feed on any household food including pet food. Outside, their preferred diet includes insects, seeds, fruits and honeydew from aphids, mealybugs and scale insects. Control: Locate the nest by following the trail of foraging workers from their food source. Thoroughly treat each nest and eradicate it.
In infested interior walls or in the voids of outside ground floor walls, drill and inject insecticide dust. Access wall voids via electrical outlets and plumbing installation holes.
Do a solid perimeter treatment.
Call First Response Pest Control at 214-864-0669 Proudly serving Lewisville, Flower Mound, Coppell, Highland Village, Lantana, Argyle, Corinth, Lake Dallas, Plano, Denton and surrounding areas.
