Pest Control St. Louis

Acrobat Ant

Latin Name: Crematogaster ashmeadi

Features: Medium sized, mostly shiny ant with heart shaped abdomen that is frequently 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 close to white-footed ant trails, but only acrobat ant bends the abdomen up over the thorax. Acrobat ants also slow to a snails pace than white-footed ants when disturbed.

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

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

Outside the home, you will normally find Acrobat ants in a variety of dead and decaying wood. Firewood seems to be one of their preferred homes. In all cases, the timber they occupy will be dead. The acrobat ant never inhabits a nourishing or live piece of timber, which is why they like some of the woodworkings around your home. They have a nasty addiction of creating cavities in wood, especially if that wood is moist. They will even nest in foam insulating material board if weather conditions are right. One way to distinguish their invasion into your wood is to search for sawdust or other frass materials around suspected nest areas.

Several species of small to medium-sized ants are occasional pests in and around the home. One of these is named the acrobat ant as a result of the direction the worker ants carry their abdomens above the remainder of the body as if they were performing a balancing act. Acrobat ants are slightly longer than 1/8th inch. They vary in color from yellowish brown to dark brown, and the heart-shaped abdomen is usually darker than the remainder of the body. Magnification is needed 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 addiction of the workers to carry their abdomens up when they are disturbed is more than likely the best method to name this species.

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

When acrobat ants nest indoors they are normally inside timber or cavities kept moist with water from leaks. They may also nest in foam heat retaining 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?

As reported by a Pest Control company in St. Louis, acrobat ants entering from outdoors may be managed by sealing the outer crevices 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 can take care of this or for small problems, you can do it yourself. It could be necessary to drill small holes to achieve this remedy.

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

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