Pest Control St. Louis

Acrobat Ant

Latin Name: Crematogaster ashmeadi

Features: Medium sized, mostly shiny ant with heart shaped stomach that is sometimes bent up over the thorax when ant is disturbed.

Color: Color variable from light reddish brown to brown or black.

Other: Slow to moderately fast moving ant. May forage in tight foraging trails similar to white-footed ant trails, but only acrobat ant bends the abdomen up over the thorax. Acrobat ants also slow down than white-footed ants when disturbed.

Habitat: Acrobat Ants are found in the Southeastern US (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia), but can be located in parts of Missouri

Like all ants, the acrobat ants may produce winged, reproductive individuals (males and women) called swarmers. These sexually developed adults emerge from an established colony, normally in the fall, to disperse and commence new colonies. The swarmers are harmless, but they may be the first indication of an infestation. Special remedy of swarmers beyond vacuum-cleaning or sweeping them up is not required.

Outside the home, you will generally find Acrobat ants in an assortment of dead and decaying timber. Firewood appears to be one of their preferred homes. In all cases, the wood they occupy will be dead. The acrobat ant never inhabits a wholesome or live piece of wood, which is why they like a few of the woodworkings around your home. They have a nasty trait of creating cavities in wood, in particular when that wood is moist. They will even nest in foam insulating material board if weather conditions are right. One way to name their intrusion into your timber is to look for sawdust or other frass materials around suspected nest areas.

Several types of small to medium-sized ants are occasional pests around the home. One of these is named the acrobat ant as a consequence of how the worker ants carry their abdomens above the remainder of the body as if they were performing a balancing act. Acrobat ants are longer than 1/8th inch. They vary in color from yellowish brown to dark brown, and the heart-shaped stomach is commonly darker than the rest of the body. Magnification is required to see a pair of spines on the back edge of the middle section of the body that helps identify this ant from other species. The habit of the workers to carry their abdomens uphill when they are disturbed is more than likely the best method to recognize this species.

Acrobat ants may nest both outside and indoors. Outdoor nests are most often in dead and decaying timber like logs, stumps, dead trees limbs, firewood and hollow tree cavities. They may nest in damp soil beneath leaf litter or rocks. The small worker ants readily enter buildings through cracks around windows and doors and several openings. Trails of workers may be observed moving between the nest and a food source. Acrobat ants feed upon an assortment of foods, including other insects and sweets.

When acrobat ants nest indoors they are commonly inside wood or cavities kept moist with water from leaks. They can also nest in foam insulating board or sheathing. As they excavate the large galleries used as nest sites, sawdust can be deposited near the nest area.

How to Get Rid of Acrobat Ants?

According to a Pest Control company in St. Louis, acrobat ants entering from outdoors can be managed by sealing the outer fractures through which they enter, using a residual insecticide barrier along the foundation, or by treating the ant nest if the location can be established through careful inspection and observation.

Ant colonies living within the walls should be treated by eliminating any moisture problems (if present) and by injecting household insecticide spray or dust into infested wall voids. An exterminator may take care of this or for small problems, you can do it yourself. It may well be essential to drill small holes to achieve this treatment.

Insecticides containing pyrethroids are available to homeowners for outdoor use. Always follow labeled directs.

Visit your local retailer to discover a ready-to-use insecticide labeled for ants. Read and follow the directions on the label.