Are Ants Around My Irvine Property Dangerous?
14 / Oct / 2020
What has six legs, lives on every continent except Antarctica, and resides anywhere you work, live, or play? If you guessed ants, you are correct.
There are over ten thousand different ant species. These fascinating six-legged creatures can live in virtually any environment. Belonging to the same order as wasps and bees, they are comprised of three parts: a large head, a narrow thorax, and an abdomen. At the end of each of their six legs are claws. Ants are possibly the strongest animals (for their size) on the planet with the ability to lift 50 times their body weight. They have two jaws equipped for gripping and carrying these “heavy” items.
While they don’t have ears, ants have two antennae that house their sense receptors, the most powerful of which are their odor receptors. The odor receptors of ants are exponentially stronger than other insects, which enable them to find food particles even as small as a crumb. When an ant locates a source of food, it communicates using pheromones to provide a type of GPS coordinate to the buffet. But what if that buffet is in your home?
Malang Pest Control is your source of information on ants. We provide the service and tools needed in our ant control service to protect your Irvine home against ant invasions.
Nuisance Ants
Ants are considered the number one nuisance pest by the National American Management Association. They are not harmful to your property or your health. But man, there’s nothing more annoying than opening a cupboard to find a single file line of marching ants headed straight for the organic honey. No ant is welcome inside your home.
If you have had the experience above, you might have dealt with a variety of ant species collectively called sugar ants. Sugar ants include carpenter ants, odorous house ants, and Argentine ants. Odorous house ants emit a rotten coconut smell when crushed.
Odorous and Argentine ants are small dark brown or black ants. Relatively harmless, these two types of ants are highly attracted to sweets. They find a route into your home through cracks and make their way to your kitchen, where they can contaminate food items. Once inside, they build their nests in warm moist areas.
Ants That Are Dangerous To You & Your Home
Carpenter ants are the most dangerous type of ant to your home. Like termites, large colonies of carpenter ants target and damage wood, but not by eating it. They tunnel through the wood to create nests, leaving behind trails of sawdust-like particles. Carpenter ants need moisture to survive, so they look for soft, wet, or rotting wood.
Notorious red fire ants can be dangerous to your health. Common in California, the red fire ant nests in mounds above the ground. When their nests are disturbed, often inadvertently by pets or humans, red fire ants sting, injecting venom that can cause painful burning, itching, and swelling in its victims. The venom could be life-threatening for pets or people who have allergies to fire ants. A fire ant sting to a family member with an allergy can cause anaphylaxis shock and potentially death, if untreated. Secondary bacterial infections introduced from the sting are also a cause of concern as victims scratch and scrape at the irritated skin.
The yellow and light brown Pharaoh ant is known to transmit dozens of diseases like staphylococcus and salmonella. Pharaoh ants are a hospital’s worst nightmare as they have been known to enter the mouths and wounds of patients, exposing them to bacteria. In your home, these ants target your cabinet and can track harmful pathogens in and around your food supply.
No matter what type of ants may plague your home, contact the professionals at Malang Pest Control for pest solutions in Irvine, CA.