March 8, 2009

Large red and black ants most likely Florida Carpenter Ants

Hello,

Starting last night I have noticed long red and black ants in my home, generally on the ceiling or on the walls, towards the center of my home. I suspect they are coming in through the attic, but I can’t actually tell where they are. I generally spot 1-3 at a time, in different areas and moving in different directions. They seem to be foraging or wandering aimlessly.

Since the ants are already in my home and potentially nesting in my attic, what would be the most effective treatment? I was hoping there might be some foggers I could put in my attic to treat the wood. It is a crawl space and would be very difficult to spray. Alternatively, would it be better to try to place some baits up there or somehow mount them on the walls near where I have been seeing the ants? Thanks.

P.S. For what it’s worth, I’m located in north-central Florida, so we have lots of fire ants. I am not sure if these are fire ants because I haven’t given them the opportunity to attack.

Fireants are small and travel rapidly when active. They almost always nest in the ground and aren’t commonly found where you say you’re seeing them. I suspect you have Florida Carpenter Ants, which can be reddish/brown, large and are essentially carpenter ants in all other regards.

Since we’re just coming out of winter, you most likely have a nest somewhere in or on the house and these you see now are the first sign of the nest coming out to start work now that spring is arriving. I would say the best thing you could do is identify where they are nesting. This would allow for a direct treatment. Forget using a “fogger”; they won’t get chemical where it needs to be and will prove useless for this task. Finding the nest would be best and ideal; if you are unsure where the nest might be I would bait the attack and the living area.

The best products for this task would be the Gel and Granules. Bait the living area with the Carp Gel and the attic with the Carpenter Ant Granules. This will get any foraging inside and prevent them from nesting once they feed.

I also suggest doing a good inspection around the home and try to find any traveling or nesting around the property. Treat them as our article explains and you should be able to keep them off your land altogether which in the long run would prove the best strategy. As our article explains, letting them forage close to the home means they’ll get inside at some point for sure.

Filed under Florida Carpenter Ants