Why Is It So Hard To Get Rid Of Ants?

Whether it’s little black ants or carpenter ants, we as humans try and figure out how to get rid of ants permanently from our property, but they do play a very important role in our environment…just not in our kitchen. Ants have been around since before the early cretaceous period. We’ve found diverse fossils of ants, meaning they have been around long enough to learn how to survive and to evolve. Like wasps, bees, termites, etc…ants are a eusocial species and a colony based species. Eusocial insects are split into two main groups. Reproductive and non-reproductive. All animals within a eusocial system, have jobs, much like we do. There are jobs like worker ants, which keep the nest growing and clean, foragers, which keep the nest fed, and so many more. Ants’ colonies are well built, and often carry multiple generations of ants, and if left alone, keep growing. But what kind of life cycle do ants go through anyways?

Egg Stage

Ant eggs are oval shaped and tiny, about the size of a period at the end of a sentence. Not all eggs will make it to adulthood, some will be eaten for extra nutrients by other nest mates. Before you go judging them…here’s a fun fact…even people eat ant eggs! A dish called escamoles is an addition to omelets, tacos, or on their own. It is found in hispanic, thai, and many other dishes around the world. Ant eggs will hatch within one to two weeks of being laid. Queen ants lay about 800 eggs per day. Ant eggs take about a month to hatch into the larva state. It is a non-stop cycle, which is why you can find ant infestation in your home rather quickly.

Larval Stage

After eggs have hatched, a larva is born. Larva is a worm shaped, not developed ant. They don’t have arms or eyes. During the larva stage, they don’t stop eating. Ants eat about 30% of their own body weight, and ant larvae eat just that. The larva will eat what worker ants chew and feed them as well as ant eggs. The queen will lay a specific set of eggs for the larva to eat. Adult ants are in charge of bringing food to the larvae so they can grow into a fully developed ant. Ant larvae are in this state for about 60 days. They go through metamorphosis, similar to butterflies. Ant larvae shed their skin, and turn into pupae.

Pupae Stage

This is the time of metamorphosis. It is the time where they are reorganizing and growing. Some pupae spin cocoons and others grow without one. Pupae look a lot like adult ants, but their legs and antenna are folded against their bodies. They start out pale, and become darker over time. Adult ants will move pupae into a separate nest. It protects them from other animals, and lets them grow safely. During the day, worker ants will move pupae into the warmer areas of the nest. The warmth helps them grow. If the colony is low on nutrition or food, pupae and eggs help feed the colony. But it is rare.

Adult

Pupae take about 9-30 days to become adults. Young adults are often lighter in color, but like pupae, their color darkens over time. Ants, like most insects, stop growing when they are adults. Their exoskeletons prevent them from getting any larger. After coming out of the pupae stage, ants get jobs. Queens are females that were fed more as larvae. They are larger than workers and they lay eggs. An ant queen can live for decades under the right conditions. Workers are females that were fed less than queens as a larva. They don’t reproduce, but they perform other jobs such as taking care of the eggs, larvae, and pupae. They also build and clean the nest, and gather food. Workers are wingless and can survive for several months. Males have wings, and mate with the queen. Their lifespan is not very long—only a few weeks, and they don’t do jobs other than reproduction.

Ants can infest a property and depending on the type of ant, can cause major damage within a few months. Ants can build nests within a week of finding a good spot, and it can grow even faster once roots have been put down. Regardless of what we as humans do to kill ants, or try to get rid of ants permanently from our property, they come back every year, and can continue to invade, or do damage to your property. Give the professional ant exterminators here at Green Pest Management a call at (302) 777-2390, and get a free quote. Hear what customers are saying and read some reviews about our incredible treatments and technicians.