Pest Facts & Pest Control Information

Category:  AntsBed BugsBeetlesButterfliesCarpenter BeesCaterpillarsCicadaCockroachesCricketsEarwigsFleasFliesGrasshoppersKissing bugsLiceMitesMosquitoesMothsPests ControlPests, GeneralRodentsScorpionsSpidersStinging InsectsTermitesTicks   Type:  - All -BiologyFun FactGeographyHealthHistoryPrevalencePreventionPropertyTreatment

Ants — Biology
After mating, queen ants lose their wings and never fly again.

Ants — Biology
Ants cannot chew their food. They move their jaws sidewards, like a scissor, to extract the juices from the food.

Ants — Fun Fact
Ants are able communicate with each other about danger and directions to food.

Ants — Fun Fact
When excited or disturbed, the acrobat ant workers run about with their abdomens held high above their heads.

Ants — Fun Fact
If crushed, the odorous house ant worker gives off a rotton coconut odor, hence it's name.

Ants — Fun Fact
An ant can lift 20 times its own body weight. If a 175-pound man had the comparative strength of an ant, he could lift four tons.

Ants — Fun Fact
African weaver ants can haul prey weighing more than 1,000 times their own weight up trees to their nests mainly through the aid of large adhesive pads on each foot.

Ants — Geography
Odorous house ants are common in California north to Washington and are the most common pest ant in the mid-south region of Arkansas and West Tennessee. They may be encountered occasionally throughout the Midwestern United States.

Ants — Geography
Fire ants currently infest 14 states in the southern portion of the U.S.

Ants — Geography
Fire ants continue to move and infest more and more of the country. The entire pacific coast is ripe for infestation

Ants — Health
Large numbers of fire ant stings can result in death.

Ants — Health
A small portion of the population is allergic to fire ant stings and should see medical treatment immediately if stung.

Ants — Health
Fire ants appear to sting all at the same time. This is because they are sensitive to vibration or movement and tend to sting once they object they are on moves. Fire ants swarm onto a body part and when one ant stings, the body party moves causing all other ants to sting in response.

Ants — History
Fire ants first entered the United States in the 1920s through the port of Mobile, Alabama.

Ants — Prevalence
Ants are the #1 nuisance pest in the United States.

Ants — Prevalence
A majority of homeowners report being concerned about ants.

Ants — Prevalence
56% of homeowners surveyed said they have had a problem with ants in the past year.

Ants — Prevalence
More people in the South and West report having problems with ants.

Ants — Property
Odorous house ants may be difficult to control because they don't feed much from baiting stations.

Ants — Property
While their name may be misleading, pavement ants can also be found inside the home.

Ants — Treatment
32% of households that experienced ants called a professional.