This page is a Crazy Ant control guide. By using the products and methods suggested you will get control of Crazy Ants. Follow this guide and use the recommended products and we guarantee 100% control of Crazy Ants.
Due to their erratic behavior and movements, Crazy Ants (also known as the Tawny or Raspberry Crazy Ant) are one of the toughest pests to control once they invade indoors. This behavior is how they earned the “crazy” in their name. Crazy Ants appear to wander aimlessly and don’t follow specific trails like other ants. If left untreated, Crazy Ant populations can very quickly get out of control.
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Crazy Ants are either brown or black and can be identified by their extremely long, 12-segment antennae and extra-long legs. Crazy Ants are predominantly found in the southeastern part of the United States. Each colony may contain millions of ants and multiple queens. The queens spend their time laying hundreds of eggs. Inside, Crazy ants can nest in small cracks and crevices and voids, and particularly enjoy damp areas to hang around.
Crazy Ants can impact humans on several levels. They bite humans, wildlife, and can attack cattle and poultry. They also have a tendency to infest electrical equipment and cause short circuits. This damage can be costly, with over 140 million dollars needing to be spent annually in the United States to fix the electrical damage Crazy Ants create.
If your home has been overrun by the presence of crazy ants, this helpful guide below can help equip you with the right professional tools and DIY know-how so you can successfully overcome Crazy Ant infestations with ease.
Identification
Before you can proceed with treatment you need to identify and make sure you are dealing with Crazy Ants. Misidentification can lead to using the wrong treatment products, which results in a waste of your time and hard-earned money. Here are some common characteristics of Crazy Ants so you know what they look like for easy identification.
- Crazy ants are small (around 1/8th of an inch long) and dark-colored, usually a grayish black, but they can also be tan colored.
- The body has numerous long hairs which are coarse. Worker crazy ants have long legs and long 12-segmented antennae with no club.
- They have the name “Crazy Ants” because they move in erratic patterns. Although they do follow a foraging trail, they can move in a sort of zig-zag fashion that separates them from other ant species.
Use the image and description above to help you to properly identify Crazy Ants on your property. If you are still unsure, you can contact us with a high-quality closeup photo of the ant and we will try to identify the species for you.
Inspection
After you have confirmed that you are dealing with Crazy Ants, you need to proceed with an inspection. During this phase, you need to locate the areas where Crazy ants are found or the places where they are infesting so you know where to focus treatment.
Crazy ants have a versatile diet and are predators, foragers, and scavengers. Once inside a building, they immediately begin searching for food. Crazy ants enjoying eating proteins, animal matter, grease and other insects, but they will readily eat foods that contain sugar. Inspect both indoors and outdoors to locate the infestation.
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Where To Inspect
Outdoors, Crazy Ants prefer to nest in rotting wood, fallen tree limbs, and logs, tree stumps, under stones, bricks, and lumber. They can also be found nesting in the soil of potted plants and in gardens. Indoors, Crazy ants often nest in wall voids and beneath floors, particularly near plumbing.
What To Look For
You’re looking for foraging trails and the ants themselves. Crazy Ants typically do not build an anthill. Instead, they create their nests inside wood, in the soil, and other hollowed out crevices. Search in the cracks and crevices of all these places mentioned above, for their foraging trails and the ant activity. Typically Crazy Ants will move in erratic patterns and random directions.
Treatment
Once you have confirmed Crazy Ant activity it is time to begin treatment. Remember to read all product labels, and follow the application instructions on these labels and stay safe by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).
Crazy Ant control should be conducted both indoors and outdoors. Outdoors, we recommend a broadcast treatment of Supreme IT Insecticide around your yard as well as a perimeter treatment around your home or building to create a barrier. Indoors, we recommend applying Ant-Trax Ant Bait and treating hard-to-reach areas and tight spaces with D-Fense Dust.
Step 1 – Outdoor Treatment with Supreme IT
Supreme IT is a powerful insecticide that targets more than 75+ insect pests, including Crazy Ants. It delivers a quick knockdown and a long residual effect of up to 90 days. This product also works as a repellent so it is perfect to use around the perimeter of your structure to create an insecticidal barrier.
Calculate the square footage of the treatment area (measure and multiple the area length times the width) to determine how much Supreme IT you will need. 1 ounce of Supreme IT with a gallon of water in a pump sprayer will treat 1,000 square feet.
Once mixed, spray Crazy Ant nesting sites such as around mulched areas, flower beds, yard debris, and landscaping. Next, do a perimeter treatment by spraying 3 feet up and 3 feet out from the foundation of your structure. While spraying in this manner, also target window frames, door frames, eaves, soffits, rain gutters, cracks and crevices, and electrical/plumbing penetrations.
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Do not let people or pets enter areas treated until 2 to 4 hours have passed.
Step 2 – Apply D-Fense Dust
To start your indoor treatment, use D-Fense Dust to treat ants that have made their way inside. D-Fense Dust is an effective waterproof insecticidal dust that can be used in hard to reach areas like wall voids, cracks and crevices, and moisture-prone areas where there are lots of Crazy Ant activity.
To use D-Fense Dust you will need a handheld duster. Fill the Duster halfway with D-Fense Dust and leave lots of room for air to circulate inside. Apply by squeezing the duster. Apply in cracks and crevices inside your home, in wall voids, under appliances, behind baseboards, and behind electrical fixtures.
Step 3 – Apply Ant-Trax Ant Bait
Ant-Trax is a potent ant bait that is attractive to Crazy Ants because of its sweet taste. It works slowly, allowing the ants to carry back the poison back to their nest, where complete elimination of the population occurs. Ant-Trax is easy to use and comes as a syringe for easy application.
Apply at the rate of a pea-sized drop in places where you have noticed Crazy Ant activity. Separate each application by at least one foot. Apply near window frames, door frames, countertops, under sinks (close to moisture), around appliances, and close to their food source.
Do not try to kill the ants or use cleaning products on the places where you applied Ant-Trax. The point is to let the ants come into contact with the product so they will carry it back to their nest. Allow 7 to 10 days to go by and let the ants feast undisturbed on the bait.
Prevention
Once the Crazy Ant infestation has been eliminated, you will want to prevent reinfestation from occurring by enacting some preventative measures. Here are some crucial to-dos to carry out to ensure Crazy Ants don’t return:
- Start by reducing yard debris from your lawn. Get rid of woodpiles, logs, rocks, bricks, tree stumps, leaf litter, and general clutter from your yard to eliminate harborage areas that these ants might use.
- Maintain a regular cleaning schedule and quickly clean up and pick up spills and food crumbs. By eliminating their food sources Crazy Ants will be forced to look for food in another residence. Remove moisture problems from your property.
- Fix or repair leaky faucets and plumbing.
- Trim back vegetation away from your property to prevent ants from getting access to your home.
- Finally, spray Supreme IT every 90 days around the perimeter of your property to prevent ants and other insects from coming inside.
Key Takeaways
What are Crazy Ants?
- Crazy Ants are a common ant invasion known to infest yards and interiors. They are distinguished by their erratic movement patterns.
How To Get Rid of Crazy Ants
- We recommend treating both indoors and outdoors to eliminate Crazy Ants. For indoor treatments use Ant-Trax Ant Bait and D-Fense Dust. For outdoor treatments, use Supreme IT Insecticide.
Preventing Crazy Ant Reinfestation
- Prevent Crazy Ant reinfestation by performing environmental modifications (reducing leaf litter and moisture issues) and performing a preventative barrier application of Supreme IT every 90 days.
Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Kitchens
