ANTS
Ants are a ubiquitous fact of life in Australia. If you’ve been on a picnic, watched cricket from the hill, worked in your garden or left cake crumbs on your kitchen counter, you’ll know exactly what we mean.
You may not however, know how fascinating they are. Did you know?
- The total weight of all the ants in the world is the same as, if not larger than that of all humans.
- Some ants can support up to 100 times their own weight.
- Ants are the longest living of all insects, living for up to 30 years.
- All worker, soldier and queen ants are female.
- Ants have two stomachs, one to hold food for themselves, and one for others.
Despite those remarkable facts, ants can be a real nuisance to live with. Depending on the species, size of the colony and where they’re located, they can also be very difficult to eradicate and even cause damage to your property.
WE KNOW ANTS
We can treat minor ant problems as part of a general pest control treatment, but for more significant infestations (e.g. larger colonies or funnel ants in lawns), we need to assess the situation on site to determine the best method of treatment.
Some of the species we commonly encounter in the Northern Rivers and featured below are Funnel Ants, White Footed Ants, Black House Ants, Paver Ants, Green-headed Ants, Coastal Brown Ants and Jack Jumper Ants.
FUNNEL ANTS
Funnel Ants are a particularly widespread problem in this area and can cause long term damage to your lawn and property. See some funnel ant facts below and our blog article: Funnel Ants – 10 Reasons to Get Rid of Them.
Funnel Ants.
WHITE-FOOTED ANT
White-Footed Ant.
BLACK HOUSE ANT
Black House Ant.
PAVER ANTS
Paver Ants.
GREEN HEADED ANT
Rarely enters houses, Ant bites from one of these can inflict a painful sting to humans.
Green Headed Ant.
COASTAL BROWN ANTS
Coastal Brown Ants.
JACK JUMPER ANTS
Jack Jumper Ants are also known as Hopper Ants or Skipper Ants in South Australia. The Jack Jumper Ant most frequently associated with allergic reactions is commonly known as the Jack Jumper Ant, Jack Jumper or Jumping Jack Ant.
Jack Jumper ants belong to the Myrmecia Species which is the same as the Bull Ant family, they often display jerky, jumping movements. They do not bite. Rather, they grasp the victim in their jaws, then bend and sting them. Their sting is in the tail. They are aggressive in nature and typically walk with a hopping motion, and can sometimes jump from surrounding vegetation. There are different types of allergic reactions to stinging insects. The stings of Jack Jumper ants, like those of bees and wasps, are very painful. Local swelling is very common. Large local swellings can also occur, lasting a few days at a time. Can also cause anaphylaxis in severely allergic cases.
Jack Jumper Ant.
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