You’re starting to notice a particular pest crawling around your kitchen that you’d rather not have around your house: ants. When they invade a space, it seems like they’re everywhere, and now you need effective ant control that makes these tiny pests disappear. Kanga Pest Control provides effective pest control in Albany, and we know how to stop ants.
The Life Cycle Of Ants
You need to know more about ants to rid your kitchen of them. So, you may wonder what the lifespan of an ant is? Well, there’s a lot more to that answer than a simple number. Let’s start at the beginning of an ant’s life. All ants start as a tiny soft oval egg, which is about the size of a period at the end of a sentence. Unfortunately, not every ant egg is destined to become an adult; some of them are eaten by their colony for nourishment.
Once an egg hatches, a worm-shaped larva with no eyes or legs emerges. These larvae love to eat and rely on adult ants to provide constant food, making them grow exponentially. They molt between sizes until they are large enough to metamorphose into a pupa. Pupae look more like adult ants, but their legs and antennae are folded against their bodies. They rest in this stage before moving on to the next. After a much-needed rest, the pupa becomes an adult. Young adult ants are lighter in color and darken as they age.
Adult ants have a caste system that consists of three different casts. The three castes are queen, worker, and reproductive male. Queen ants are females that were fed more as larvae. They’re larger than the workers, and they lay all the eggs in a colony. At first, queens have wings to fly to find a mate, but they shed them before starting a new colony. A queen ant can live for decades if the colony is taken care of.
Workers are female ants that were fed less as larvae. They don’t reproduce, but they’re still helpful; they perform other jobs like taking care of the colony, building and cleaning the nest, and gathering food. Workers don’t have wings, and they live for several months. Male ants have wings and can fly and mate with queens, but they only live for a few weeks.
Why Ants Invade Homes And The Problems They Cause
There are several reasons why ants would invade your Albany home. Often, ants seek shelter from the sun looking for water and food in your home. What do ants eat? Just about everything. Being omnivorous, ants eat the milk of aphids, insects, and small living or dead invertebrates, as well as the sap of plants and fruits.
When ants get into our house, they expand their menu to a wide range of sweets, meats, and fats. They can eat almost anything humans can eat, so they crawl over your kitchen countertops, bringing bacteria along.
Six Simple Yet Effective Ant Prevention Tips For Your Home
These tiny pests can get into the smallest cracks in your home’s foundation, so you need to know how to stop ants. It’s hard to implement effective ant control all by yourself, but there are some things you can try to prevent the problem from happening in the first place. Here are six simple ways to prevent ants in your home:
- Keep standing water away from your foundation.
- Be sure to clean your kitchen after cooking.
- Clean the outside of your home of any leaves or debris.
- Seal any cracks or spaces in doors, windows, and flooring.
- Eliminate any moisture in your home with a dehumidifier.
- Keep your yard clean and free of any leaves or branches.
The Most Effective Ant Control For Your Home
If you’re looking for the best ant control in Albany, give us a call at Kanga Pest Control. We know what kills ants, and we’ll keep them out of your Albany home for good. Call us today to get your ant situation under control so that you can move on with your life.
