Boric Acid Argentine Ants
Argentine ants are a nuisance in orchards, households and the other areas they infest. Unlike other ant species, Argentine ant queens develop their colonies a short distance away from their original nest. As a result, the web of interconnected nests could infest and damage a startling 200 meters of land each year. Measuring slightly less than three millimeters long, these small ants can have multiple queens that rapidly establish new colonies. Due to their rapid proliferation, it is important to control Argentine ants before their nests infest a very large area.
Argentine ant workers feed on honeydew from aphids and other sap-sucking insects. They protect aphids from predators and in turn, they damage plants, vegetation and other agricultural products. In addition, Argentine ants can be a danger to the ecosystem because they prey on bees, snakes, lizards and beneficial animals.
There are many treatments for Argentine ants. One treatment that is sometimes used is a liquid boric acid bait solution. When Argentine ant workers ingest boric acid solution, they bring it back to their colonies. The workers then feed larvae, workers, and queens with the boric acid solution.
Each Argentine ant queen can establish new nests and produce thousands of workers within close range to the original nest, producing a wide network of nests. An Argentine ant colony can only be destroyed by killing all of its queens. The severity of an infestation of Argentine ants depends upon the length of time they are allowed to proliferate. For this reason, be sure to thoroughly examine the area near any nest you find.
Additionally, a boric acid mixture can only become effective in killing Argentine ants when the correct concentration of the bait has been formulated: too weak a concentration may have no effect, while too high a concentration may kill the foraging Argentine workers before they have a chance to bring the poison back to the colony. Killing individual Argentine ants is impractical because queens so easily produce new workers. In order to ensure the elimination of all established nests, a professional control professional should be contacted.