Pharaoh Ant

Overview:

Pharaoh ants (Monomorium pharaonis) are among the major pests that have a close association with human. They can infest homes, office buildings, apartments, commercial bakeries, factories, hospitals and where food is handled or stored. The main challenges of dealing with these ants can be related to the following characteristics of pharaoh ants:

• They are hard to find- Pharaoh ants are small insects, capable of living in unreachable spots (i.e., internal wall voids) and able of infesting all areas of a building where food is available as well as where food is NOT commonly found. This makes locating nesting habitats and foraging trails tough to accomplish in a short period.
• They pose health risk- Pharaoh ants can transmit pathogenic bacteria to human, such as Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Streptococcus spp. Additionally, they are of particular importance in hospitals where they may enter wounds, enter IV bottles, seek moisture from sleeping infants, etc. 
• They are survivals- Pharaoh ants can survive on a variety of food materials. They are omnivore pest capable of feeding on fat, carbohydrate, proteins and insects (living and dead).
• They can spread quickly through buildings- if disturbed, a part of the pharaoh ant colony migrates to a new suitable locations to establish several new colonies. This behavior is called budding. Budding occurs due to a number of reasons such as overcrowding, seasonal changes in the building's central heating and cooling system, or applications of repellent pesticides or cleaning agents.

To successfully overcome pharaoh ant problems, the pest management professionals (PMPs) and their clients should form a partnership to make these pests strive to find food, water and shelter resources. This will make them more susceptible to pesticide treatment.

 Facts:

• Despite their names, pharaoh ants are native to tropical areas in West Africa, but currently, they are widely spread throughout the world.
• Pharaoh ants do not build mounds or tunnel wood; instead, they nest in any dark void in a structure.
• Pharaoh ants are the most persistent and difficult ants to manage. They develop very large colonies with up to several million workers and thousands of queens.
• Many people mistakenly refer to pharaoh ants as "sugar ants". Whereas, the real sugar ants are found in Australia. However, sugar ants can eat anything, such as meats, cheese, nuts, fats, grease, bread, honey, honeydew, seeds and insects.

Identification

• 1/16-inch long.
• Yellow or honey-colored to orange.
• Petiole with two nodes.
• Thorax uneven in shape when viewed from side with no spines.
• 12-segmented antennae with 3-segmented club.
• Workers are the same size.

Biology:

• A pharaoh ant colony consists of queens, males, workers, and immature stages (eggs, larvae, pre- pupae, and pupae)
• Pharaoh ants nest in hard to find, warm (80 - 86°F) and humid (80%) locations.
• Queens usually live for 12 months and lay about 400 eggs in 10 to 12 batches.
• Eggs hatch in five to seven days.
• The larval stage lasts 18-19 days; while, adults emerge from pupae in 2-4 weeks.
• Depending on the temperature and relative humidity conditions, the developmental period from eggs to adults takes about 38 days for workers and 45 days for males and queens.
• Worker ants live for 9-10 weeks. Males normally die within three to five weeks after mating.
• Only 5% to 10% of the total pharaoh ant workers in a colony forage for food and water at all time.
• Pharaoh ants form large colonies. A colony size could reach up to 300,000 workers with multiple queens (from 2 to over 200 queens/colony).
• Unlike many other ants, pharaoh ants do not have mating flights to initiate new colonies. Instead, they reproduce by "budding", and spread quickly through the entire building. In this situation, one queen or more along with groups of workers migrate to new locations to start new colonies. Or otherwise, workers carry brood stages to new locations, and then a new nest will be formed.
• If the new colonies are located nearby the initial colony, they will be connected for a while and share food and other resources. But if they are located within considerable distance from the initial colony, they will become separate colonies and act aggressively against each other when get in contact.

 Habits:

• Nesting and trailing- in northern states, pharaoh ants nest in various indoor habitats. Their nests are typically found within a structure in tough places such as interior wall voids. The foragers of pharaoh ants establish out-of-the-way trails between their nests and food or water sources. These trails are often located in the ceiling voids, behind baseboards, cabinets, and walls. However, in subtropical environments, the infestation of pharaoh ants may originate from outdoor environments. Outdoors trails can be found along fences, porches, patios, windowsills, doorways, and along the edges of bricks and siding. Trails can also be found along gutters and roof shingles. The outside and inside nests may or may not be connected via pheromone trails.
• Foraging- pharaoh ants are mainly active at night, but can be found active during the day.  When temperatures are favorable, workers of indoor pharaoh ant colonies may forage outdoors searching for food and water. When needed, pharaoh ant workers can forage wildly up to 147 feet from their nest.
• Traveling- Pharaoh ants move along wires and pipes in the walls throughout the structure. Occasionally, they are seen entering a room through electrical outlets and switches.
• Diet- Pharaoh ants are omnivores. They feed on fats, simple proteins and sweet-based food materials. Their diet may include syrups, jellies, cakes, fruit pies, greases, shoe polish, sponges, in addition to dead insects and animals. Historically, mint apple jelly and egg yolks have been used successfully as baits for these ants.

Management:

Prevention

•  Prevention of pharaoh ant infestations can be accomplished through the following steps:
• Pick up pet food, keep counters clean, and store food in tightly sealed containers.
• Correct moisture problems and fix leaks in roof, walls and plumbing fixtures.
• Clean up sugary spills, dead insects, soda and greasy items.
• In subtropical environments where pharaoh ant infestations can be initiated from outdoors:
• Caulk cracks and crevices around foundations that provide entry from outside.
•  Trim branches and limbs of trees and shrubs that touch the building to keep ants from gaining access via these routes.
• Provide a 2-3 ft dry, vegetation-free border, such as gravel or stones, around the perimeter of house foundations to discourage nest building. Wood chip mulches and landscape plants provide a good nesting environment for many pests, including ants.
• Manage honeydew-producing insects such as aphids, whiteflies, psyllids, and soft scales on plants near the structure. These honeydew producers often support large colonies of ants that subsequently invade homes.

Inspection

In order to properly treat or place bait materials, a thorough initial inspection is important to determine ant breeding and foraging locations. To locate pharaoh ants:

• Inspect along carpets, countertops, cabinets, in wall voids, in false ceilings, under floors, around light fixtures, behind baseboards and windowsills.
• Inspect behind refrigerator insulation, inside hollow curtain rods, or in the folds of sheets, clothes or paper.
• Inspect around toilets, sinks, mirrors, dishwashing equipments, heating ducts and pipes.
• Thoroughly inspect the laundry and boiler rooms.
• Inspect al cracks and crevices with warmth and high moisture.
• Inspect electrical wires, plumbing pipes, electrical outlets and fixtures behind walls, baseboards and cabinets that pharaoh ants usually use to travel from room to room.
• Inspect adjacent areas to the infested units. Pharaoh ant colonies are very mobile, they may move to new locations if disturbed or if the colony becomes too large.
• During warm weather conditions, inspect in debris or cracks and crevices, around window and doorways, along the edges of bricks or siding

Treatment 

• Maximum efficacy can be obtained by using a combination of baits and residual non-repellent insecticides (i.e., fipronil and Chlorfenapyr).
• To avoid the budding behavior and spreading pharaoh ants to uninfected areas:
• Use a clean spray with no repellent pesticide remains.
• Do not disturb pharaoh ants. Gently treat where, ants are seen, nest and forage consistent with the label instructions.
• Reduce the spray pressure and runoff effects on pharaoh ants trails and population.
• During the treatment, no people, food, or pets should be present in the room to be treated. Aquatic tanks should be covered and temporary unplugged. 
• Do not enter the treated room for two - four hours after the treatment, or until the pesticide is dry.
• In order to effectively eliminate ant populations in and around a structure, slow acting non-repellent pesticides should be used to give ant workers enough time to deliver the toxic materials to the entire colony before they die. Therefore, after treatment, ants may continue to be seen until all the ants die. For example, if non-repellent liquid pesticides, such as Phantom and Termidor SC are used, ants will be managed within the first week following the treatment.  However, if baits methods are used, ants may be seen active until they accumulate the lethal dose in the colony. This may take from two to three weeks following the treatment.
• After treatment, homeowners or clients should understand not to apply any do-it-yourself, repellent or cleaning products to treated areas, or such practices will:
• Deter ants from feeding on the baits or will drive them away from treated surfaces with non-repellent pesticide.
• Stimulate "budding" (see above).
• If ant activity persists at about the same level after 30-40 days from the initial treatment, a follow up treatment is justified and needed at this point by the PMP to deal with the problem. Anyhow, besides the level of the infestation, follow up treatments also depend upon which brand of pesticide is being used. Adam's MPM will communicate with customers to allocate a proper time for doing follow up treatments.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. What is a pharaoh ant?

A. The pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis) is a tiny, yellowish-red ant that infests human dwellings throughout the world. Pharaoh ants are a tropical species but they thrive anywhere in buildings with central heating system.

Q. What do pharaoh ants eat?

A. Pharaoh ants prefer high protein food materials such as grease, meat, and fat, but they can feed on a variety of food materials, including syrups, sugar, honey, cake, breads, and butter.

Q. Are pharaoh ants vector for disease?

 A. Yes. Pharaoh ants are excellent vector for disease, especially food- borne pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Bordatella, Staphylococcus, and Pseudomonas. In hospitals, they may infest sterile supplies and forage in the bandages and wounds of patients.

 Q. How long do pharaoh ants generally live?

 A. Pharaoh ants live only a few weeks. Queens live less than a full year. Colonies of pharaoh ants are almost constantly producing new broods of queens, males, and workers to keep up with the mortality. Unlike pharaoh ants, workers of many mound ants and cornfield ants live 1-3 or more years and their queens may live over ten years. They produce queens and males only once a season. It has been reported that a queen cornfield ant lived and produced eggs for 22 years in a lab colony.

Q. What makes pharaoh ants very resilient and hard to manage species?

A. Budding is the major factor causing the toughness of pharaoh ants management. In this behavior pattern, a part of the colony migrates to a new location rather than by single females dispersing after a reproductive swarm. Budding may occur due to overcrowding, seasonal changes in the building's central heating and cooling system or application of a repellent pesticide.

Q. What can I do to get rid of pharaoh ants?

A. Call Adam's Pest Control, Inc at 1.800.227.2214.