Ants enter the house typically looking for food, attracted by foods rich in sugars. I am 4 The most common species That in the spring we find in our cities and in our homes: the black ant, the ant of the sidewalk, the carpenter ant and the acrobat ant. To remove them from home we can also use pesticides, potentially harmful to other pets: for example eliminating residues of sugary foodseither using plant essential oils that disorient these animals, or using substances for them toxic such as theboric acid (contained in the Borotalco) or different sweets Like aspartame.
What attracts ants in the house
As we have seen, the ants eat a little bit of everything and some even cultivate and eat mushrooms or raise and “have” aphids for their hole. All are attracted to sugary substances. They feel the smells through the antennas and then use chemical signals to communicate the presence of a source of nourishment together. Likewise, a crushed ant emits a alarm pheromone Which puts the companions on the run: for this you can see all the others disperse suddenly in various directions.
The first to get out of the nest are the scout ants or “explorers“, Which, found the food, leave a chemical wake of pheromone rubbing the abdomen on the ground. Following the track, the workers can find the way for both food and to return to the nest. The amount of pheromone emitted is regulated according to the distance of the food source compared to the nest And to the quality and quantity of the food itself (the ants deposit up to 22 times more pheromones within 10 cm from a food source than the section of the route to return to the nest).
What to do to remove them without the use of insecticides
To adopt remedies without the use of insecticides we can exploit knowledge on their behavior:
- Since they are attracted to sugars and food residues, you need to Remove them immediately leaving the surfaces well clean. Sugar and honey jars must be kept closed;
- Since pheromoni releases along the way, you have to act to “stop” or “deviate” the chemical trace released. Many vegetable essential oils (mint oil, sage, pine or eucalyptus) disturb and disorient the ants.
Laboratory tests also demonstrated the toxicity for ingestion of theboric acid on the ant. In fact, the Borotalco helps to remove them.
Also the intake of various sweeteners such as theerythytaltheaspartame or the saccharin It seems to be lethal for different species and baits could be made with these substances.
If it is really necessary to use a chemical product, the Baits closed in containers They are the safest for the environment and for pets compared to other insecticides. Exploit the behavior of tropallasses of ants (the mechanism of exchange of food fragments between individuals within a colony). The foraging workers find fragments of bait and distribute them among the members of the colony, in this way the active ingredient contained in the baits spreads within the anthill and eliminates all ants over time.
What are the most common species in Italy
Let’s get to know the species of ants better that we can most likely find in our homes and gardens, going to discover their behavior.
Black ant
We are in gardenwe have recently sown the lawn and we begin to observe files of black ants that quickly transport seeds to their nest. It may be Black ant (Lasius Niger) which often builds the anthill in the ground and under stones. The colonies count on average over 5,000 individuals. The workers live up to 1-2 years, while the queens can live Even 28 years.
In the months of July and August, with the warmer climate, male and females put wings and engage in wedding flights. Immediately after mating, the males die, while the winged females found new colonies. This species feeds on various types of food: seeds, nectar of flowers, flies and other small insects, which are brought back to the nest. Black ants also “munish” aphids, collecting the precious drops of sweet hole.
Formica of the sidewalk
We drop some residue of food, maybe a piece of meat on the sidewalk In front of the entrance of the house and we note that, in a few moments, thousands of small brunette ants thicken around the fallen fragment and begin to dismember it and drag it away in microscopic pieces until all traces disappear. It may be formica of the sidewalk (Tetramorium caespitum) which tends to nest precisely under self -senses, floors and sidewalks or in the slopes of homes. It has a dark brown body with clear legs. Also in this species the workers are much smaller than the queens: the worker is about 3.25 mm long while the queen is about 8 mm long.
Have colonies polygine (i.e. with more than a queen) and this involves that they can multiply very quickly. The queens lay fertilized eggs that become workers or queens and non -fertilized eggs that become males, eaten by the other individuals of the colony immediately after mating. They are mainly carnivorebut do not disdain sugary foods.
Formica Carpentie
It is spring and at home we observe a tidy row of ants that come out of an electric power outlet or from a wooden battiscopa And they walk decided towards a point of the kitchen. It may be Formica Carpentie (Camponotus Vagus), This is so called because he digs nests in the wood and is able to damage the timber present in the houses by building galleries systems. If you live in a wooden house it could be a big trouble having these guests! They are black, opaque, with rather dense hair. The workers are about 6-14 mm large, while the queens also reach 16-18 mm. They prefer sugary substances as food.
Acrobat form
A wooden battiscopa can also come out acrobat form (Crematogaster Scutellaris) also called “rizzaculo“, For a particular position of defense with the abdomen raised, which he takes on if he feels in danger. He has a rather painful bite and is unmistakable for his red head and heart -hearted abdomen. Its presence is often revealed by the formation of sawdust. Feeds on meat, live insects and dead, corpses of small animals, But also of foods of vegetable origin and, like almost all ants, loves products containing sugars.
