What Makes The Baton Rouge Crazy Ants So Crazy?

September 15, 2021

Winter’s not quite over yet, but, fortunately, the ground is starting to thaw out and the sun is slowly coming back to us. Baton Rouge boasts an exciting nightlife and ample colorful opportunities to enjoy good food, listen to good music, and meet good people. Baton Rouge blooms in every color, but with crazy beauty comes crazy pests, namely, crazy ants. Today we are talking about how to identify crazy ants, what makes them "crazy," and how to keep them out of your home.

How To Identify Crazy Ants

What makes these little buggers so crazy? They look like relatively normal ants. They are dark brown or black in color and grow to about 3mm (0.12 in) in length. You might be able to recognize them by their unusually long legs. But the best way to recognize them is by their crazy, erratic movements. Other ant species move in an organized way, often moving in a line, but crazy ants are disorganized, irrational, and chaotic.

Compared to other, larger ants, these guys appear pretty non-threatening, but they actually pose quite a problem to homeowners. Originating from Southeast Asia, crazy ants are a worldwide invasive species, disrupting households and ecosystems wherever they can survive. With Baton Rouge's dense population and great biodiversity, our state is the perfect host for these pests. Crazy ants love Baton Rouge, so it’s no wonder that they’re so difficult to remove from our homes!

What Makes Crazy Ants So Crazy?

Crazy ants are the worst type of ant infestation you can get around here. Their nests tend to contain very large colonies, with any nest having between 8 and 40 queens. If the problem persists, crazy ant colonies can split into different nests, which makes their growth rate even higher.

As a result, crazy ants can turn into a crazy big problem. They eat
anything organic: meats, sweets, live insects, dead insects, plants, snacks, and anything else with calories. And not only will they disrupt your pantry, but they can also disrupt local ecosystems. Crazy ants are territorial and aggressive, displacing other local ant colonies, including more combative colonies like fire ants. This can create ecological damage, in the long run, creating costly lawn care problems, if left untreated.

How To Prevent A Crazy Ant Infestation

Crazy ants are a serious problem. As the weather warms up, now is the time to think about preventing an infestation. Crazy ants need two things to survive: a nesting spot and a food source. Once the ground thaws, make sure that there aren’t any dark, protected spaces for ants to nest, including leaf piles, rocks, lumber stacks, or tall grasses. Additionally, make sure your house is sealed off. If there is one small crack into your home where the air leaks out, ants will be able to sense your food stocks from far away. The following ant-prevention tips should help keep ants out of your home.

• Cut down tall grasses and rake any leaf piles from the previous seasons.

• Remove lumber piles, rock stacks, and piles of equipment from your yard. 

• Seal off any cracks in your house, including underground spaces and anywhere where the ground meets your floorboards.

• Remove food sources from your yard, such as open garbage cans, fallen fruits or vegetables, or pet food left outside.

• Remove water sources outside your home, as water will attract many kinds of pests.

Let The Professionals At River City Termite & Pest Help

Of course, even the strongest DIY prevention plan doesn’t always keep pests out. Invasive insects are smart and persistent, and once they’re a problem, they won’t go away on their own. The best thing you can do is contact the professionals before any pest issue spirals out of control. Don’t let crazy ants become a crazy big problem; contact River City Termite & Pest, Baton Rouge's premier pest control specialists. 

Tags: ant control ant identification ant prevention

How To Identify Crazy Ants

What makes these little buggers so crazy? They look like relatively normal ants. They are dark brown or black in color and grow to about 3mm (0.12 in) in length. You might be able to recognize them by their unusually long legs. But the best way to recognize them is by their crazy, erratic movements. Other ant species move in an organized way, often moving in a line, but crazy ants are disorganized, irrational, and chaotic.

Compared to other, larger ants, these guys appear pretty non-threatening, but they actually pose quite a problem to homeowners. Originating from Southeast Asia, crazy ants are a worldwide invasive species, disrupting households and ecosystems wherever they can survive. With Baton Rouge's dense population and great biodiversity, our state is the perfect host for these pests. Crazy ants love Baton Rouge, so it’s no wonder that they’re so difficult to remove from our homes!

What Makes Crazy Ants So Crazy?

Crazy ants are the worst type of ant infestation you can get around here. Their nests tend to contain very large colonies, with any nest having between 8 and 40 queens. If the problem persists, crazy ant colonies can split into different nests, which makes their growth rate even higher.

As a result, crazy ants can turn into a crazy big problem. They eat
anything organic: meats, sweets, live insects, dead insects, plants, snacks, and anything else with calories. And not only will they disrupt your pantry, but they can also disrupt local ecosystems. Crazy ants are territorial and aggressive, displacing other local ant colonies, including more combative colonies like fire ants. This can create ecological damage, in the long run, creating costly lawn care problems, if left untreated.

How To Prevent A Crazy Ant Infestation

Crazy ants are a serious problem. As the weather warms up, now is the time to think about preventing an infestation. Crazy ants need two things to survive: a nesting spot and a food source. Once the ground thaws, make sure that there aren’t any dark, protected spaces for ants to nest, including leaf piles, rocks, lumber stacks, or tall grasses. Additionally, make sure your house is sealed off. If there is one small crack into your home where the air leaks out, ants will be able to sense your food stocks from far away. The following ant-prevention tips should help keep ants out of your home.

• Cut down tall grasses and rake any leaf piles from the previous seasons.

• Remove lumber piles, rock stacks, and piles of equipment from your yard. 

• Seal off any cracks in your house, including underground spaces and anywhere where the ground meets your floorboards.

• Remove food sources from your yard, such as open garbage cans, fallen fruits or vegetables, or pet food left outside.

• Remove water sources outside your home, as water will attract many kinds of pests.

Let The Professionals At River City Termite & Pest Help

Of course, even the strongest DIY prevention plan doesn’t always keep pests out. Invasive insects are smart and persistent, and once they’re a problem, they won’t go away on their own. The best thing you can do is contact the professionals before any pest issue spirals out of control. Don’t let crazy ants become a crazy big problem; contact River City Termite & Pest, Baton Rouge's premier pest control specialists. 

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