For many people, having ants invade your home is an annoyance. For some it brings panic as it can be intimidating seeing thousands of fast moving insects crawling to and fro in and out of your cabinets, on your floors, on your counters, in your food supplies, etc. Ants can appear seemingly out of nowhere. A home or business can be ant free on one day and completely infested the next.
Despite their absolute annoying, and sometimes destructive habits, if you take the time to study ants, you might see that they have some amazing qualities about them as well. Unlike some creatures like the brown marmorated stink bug, which appears to exist for absolutely no reason, ants do provide some benefits to society.
Here are some interesting ant facts:
• Ant colonies can have one queen or several queens depending on the species of ants. The colony is matriarchal as the queen ant/s is in complete control of what occurs in the colony and all of the ant breeding.
• Ants help the environment by adding nutrients back into the soil as they work to aerate the earth as they build their nests in the soil.
• All worker ants are females.
• Worker ants are able to lift a massive amount of weight when you consider the size of an ant. They can travel a great distance from their nest and will be able to navigate their way back with ease. Ants also have a great memory.
• Depending on the ant species, the colony can be up to a million+ members strong. Ants are social creatures. There is no fighting among ants within a colony. Ants however will fight other ants that are a threat to their nest. When ants fight, it is to the death.
Despite their interesting habits and characteristics, when ants invade a home, it is best to call a Monmouth County, NJ pest control professional for expert help in killing the pests.