It's Crazy Ant Season!
This morning when I came into the office, I found my first black crazy ant crawling across my desk. Then, no sooner had I set my bags down that I received a phone call on how to get rid of these "black, crazy running ants." It is certainly Black Crazy Ant season!
Every winter, our office becomes overrun with black crazy ants. These ants are not native to the US, but have been here for decades. They are certainly not the Rasberry or Tawny Crazy Ant that you may have heard horror stories about.
My office tends to have more crazy ants than the others because I have "pet" insects and tarantulas that are housed in cages with soil or bedding. The ants love to move in out of the cold, into the heated building, and start nesting in my insect cages. My simple solution is to move the insect to a new container and set the old one outside until the crazy ants move out. You may find crazy ants inhabiting your potted plants in the winter months. Simply set the pot outdoors for a day or so to discourage the ants.
Black crazy ants do not come to baits very readily (or at all!). The best solution to managing them if they are causing your grief is to apply a barrier insecticide such as permethrin to window sills and door entries - places where the ants may squeeze in. This will be short lived, so don't be inclined to overapply and expose yourself and your family to too much pesticide.
The black crazy ants will eventually move back outdoors when the weather warms up and even on warmer days.
Every winter, our office becomes overrun with black crazy ants. These ants are not native to the US, but have been here for decades. They are certainly not the Rasberry or Tawny Crazy Ant that you may have heard horror stories about.
My office tends to have more crazy ants than the others because I have "pet" insects and tarantulas that are housed in cages with soil or bedding. The ants love to move in out of the cold, into the heated building, and start nesting in my insect cages. My simple solution is to move the insect to a new container and set the old one outside until the crazy ants move out. You may find crazy ants inhabiting your potted plants in the winter months. Simply set the pot outdoors for a day or so to discourage the ants.
Black crazy ants do not come to baits very readily (or at all!). The best solution to managing them if they are causing your grief is to apply a barrier insecticide such as permethrin to window sills and door entries - places where the ants may squeeze in. This will be short lived, so don't be inclined to overapply and expose yourself and your family to too much pesticide.
The black crazy ants will eventually move back outdoors when the weather warms up and even on warmer days.
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| Photo by Dr. Bart Drees |
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