Tackle Pesky Ants While it is Winter in Pretoria
Ant control can be downright difficult throughout South Africa and especially so in large, sprawling cities like Pretoria, where many, if not most households keep pets. Some over the counter insecticides can be dangerous or even deadly to pets – usually birds, dogs and cats – and to human beings, particularly if not applied with due caution.
Additionally, an amateur DIY “pest controller” is unlikely to know where and how to locate ants’ nests and how to ensure that the insecticide reaches the concealed colony in its entirety, throughout a vast maze of hidden tunnels, usually underground.
Inconsequential Efforts
Non-professional spraying of ants which one finds outside the nest may kill those which are visible, but within a day or two, their counterparts will be back, foraging and going about their business, completely undeterred by your efforts, which prove to have been futile.
The Colony
You’ve actually achieved nothing of consequence, other than waste your money and time, whilst increasing frustration levels. Getting rid a few ants doesn’t address the problem of infestation nor does it eradicate or even make a dent in the size of the colony.
As long as the colony exists, your problem does too. To make matters worse, an ant or termite colony functions as an entity, despite being made up of hundreds of thousands of individual colony inhabitants.
Moreover, the size and scope of the infestation, problem and colony is guaranteed to increase. As soon as an ant colony becomes too big and crowded, some will move off to another location, where they’ll establish a new colony. Eventually, this cycle repeats itself, over and over again.
Climate, Weather and Season
Sunny South Africa suits ants to a T, especially in places like Pretoria, where the climate and vegetation is sub-tropical, bordering on bushveld. Rainfall occurs in summer, summers are long and winters are mild.
Although ants in areas like Pretoria are active throughout the year, they’re at their busiest during summer, autumn and spring, rather less so in winter. Nevertheless, they do not stop their activities totally if they’re allowed to continue multiplying, unhindered by effective control measures.
Colonies
The number of ants in each colony can vary between a few hundred and 300 000. About 550 different ant species have been identified in South Africa, but not all are regarded as pests. To some extent, their nuisance value depends on the region in which they most commonly occur.
In the Pretoria area, 8 species may become pests and of these, a few are most likely to present problems to humans – large (6 – 12mm) black carpenter ants destroy wood and wooden structures, causing serious, costly damaged if unchecked.
2.5 - 4mm black ants inhabit enormous colonies and are attracted to foodstuffs in kitchens, especially sweet things, garbage bins, dog food and dog faeces. They have been known to carry up to 20 harmful disease organisms. Red ants give a stinging bite.
Take Action
Bugman Pest Controllers in Pretoria will establish which type of ant is causing you problems and apply treatments accordingly – gel baits, dusts or SABS approved residual sprays, which are carried into nests on the bodies of ants which pass over treated areas. Treatment is most effective when there’s no possibility of rain, so take action now and give Bugman a call for a free quote. |
