Austin we have an Ant Problem.
Austin has always had an Ant problem, but every year about this time ants are on the prowl. Yes, it’s Ant Season. They are making their last few preparations before settling in for a “long winter nap.” Fire Ants, Carpenter Ants, Little Black Ants, are all bundling up for the cold. And some of these preparations may lead them right into your kitchen cupboard. And why not? What ant would try to weather an Austin winter without a little food storage? You would have to be a crazy ant!
Speaking of crazy ants, the Texas Rasberry ant is still flooding through Texas and beyond. The rasberry ant has now reached Louisiana and Mississippi. Still no report of the rasberry ant in Austin, but the expert says that he wouldn’t be surprised if they were already here.
So what makes this ant so crazy?
Well being different in the orderly ant world makes you a crazy ant. They don’t walk in straight lines. They kind of look like a nervous wreck with the way the skirt about. So this funny walk is the first hint and perhaps the main reason for the crazy ant title.. But that’s not the really crazy part…
“This is an alien species. This is in higher densities than any other insects I’ve ever seen. They number in the billions and cover everything around them.” – Dr. Jerry Cook.
IN THE BILLIONS!!!
In one small condensed lab study of these ants they found 96 queens in a the ant colony! But it gets better… or should I say worse… The rasberry ant queen produces 2 to 4 eggs per hour. So… 96 x 3 gives you 288 eggs each hour. 288 x 24 hours…
That is 6912 new eggs every day for a SMALL colony!
That’s not so small.
This ants are flooding the state of Texas in a very real sense. And they are causing havoc as they scurry about. They have shut down manufacturing plants, they have shorted out street lights, they have caused Fort Houston electrical problems, they have attacked sewage systems and they have damaged well water systems. “Houston, We Have a (an ant) problem!” is an understatement. And if you thought ants in Austin were before… just wait.
But then some see a lighter side to this story…
“there is one thing good about these types of ants….they EAT Fire Ants!”
I don’t know, maybe getting rid of the fire ant is a good thing, but there maybe a day when Texans miss the occasional fire ant bite over the flood of Rasberry ants.
Got Ants? Get Ant Control. Bulwark is your Austin Ant Control and Houston Ant Control specialist.
10900 Brittmoore Park Dr
Houston, TX 77041
(713) 849-8533 Bulwark Exterminating – Austin Pest Control
Round Rock, Pflugerville, Lakeway
209 E Ben White Blvd # 115, Austin, TX 78704 (512) 291-1200 Bulwark Pest Control
17316 Bell N Dr
San Antonio, TX 78154
(210) 402-0492
October 28, 2009 - 10:37 PM Comments: Closed
