Tag Archives: NJ Ant Control

Ants, Commercial Services, News, Pest Control

Will Argentine Ants Plague NJ Offices Again This Year?

Argentine Ants Make Their Way into NJ and NYC
Argentine Ants Make Their Way into NJ and NYC

Rainy conditions make it likely that Argentine ants could be invading NJ offices this year. These small black ants are among the most common species in the area. Businesses throughout the state should be ready to use NJ pest control services if needed in the coming months.

Argentine Ants Seek Shelter

Rain causes Argentine ants to head indoors for shelter just as humans do, especially during periods when there is a lot of rain. When they’re indoors, they tend to search around for food, which makes them more likely to be seen in kitchen areas and break rooms. However, these ants are attracted to anything that has a sweet scent, including soap, so they can become a problem in bathrooms as well.

The Problems with Argentine Ants

Unlike other types of ants, Argentine ants have more than one queen in their colony. This makes them much more difficult to get rid of. Having more queens means that there are more eggs around, which can lead to high populations in one area. Businesses that have these ants around need professional help in order to ensure that the whole colony has been dealt with. Otherwise, these ants can continue to be a pest problem again and again.

If your NJ office has an ant problem this year, contact Stern Environmental for help. We provide quality NJ pest control services for ants and many other insect pests.

Ants, Insect Control, Pest Control, Pest Eradication

Why Pharoah Ants Are Trouble for Nursing Homes and Hospitals

Businessman Listening on Telephone
Call The PestPro, Our Hospital Has Pharaoh Ants!

They may have an important sounding name but Pharaoh ants aren’t something you want inhabiting your home or business.

It is thought the ant is native to Africa. The story goes the ants may have been mistakenly identified as one of Egypt’s plagues when the pharaohs ruled. Currently, Pharaoh ants are found across America.

Pharaoh Ants Statistics

The 6-legged ant is approximately 1/16 inch long with a monomorphic shape and segmented body. Its coloring ranges from pale yellow to reddish tones. Its abdomen is usually darker in color than its body and often black.

Pharaoh Habitats

These clever ants often use electrical wiring or telephone boxes as their network to travel behind the scenes where nests are nearly inaccessible. You may find them behind baseboards, walls, or under flooring. Colonies can number in the thousands. If you attempt to remove the ants, and fail, they’ll move to another area and create additional colonies. Removing them requires the expert help of a NJ pest control specialist.

Pharaoh Ants and Health

These indoor pests feed on proteins, dead insects, oils, and sweets. They are a major concern due to their spreading over a dozen unhealthy pathogens such as salmonella. Therefore, Pharaoh ants have a particularly bad reputation in hospitals when it comes to patient safety.

With Pharoah ants’ scorecard of more bad than good, contact our NJ pest control specialists at Stern Environmental for an inspection.

Ants, Insect Control

Are You Crazy About Crazy Ants?

Keep Crazy Ants Out Of Your Home
Keep Crazy Ants Out Of Your Home

The Caribbean crazy ant is known for its erratic zigzagging and start and stopping habits when running around areas on the hunt for food. They’re identifiable by their dark brown color that can also be almost black, highlighted with a gray or tawny sheen.

Caribbean crazy ants are found in all regions of the U.S. and once they’ve taken over an area, such as your home, they need the attention of a NYC pest control specialist.

Like most ants, the Caribbean crazy ant has an appetite. The Caribbean feeds primarily on dead insects, and fruits and seeds that create a sweet liquid.

The ants, while both indoors and outdoors, move their food hunting adventures to the indoors during cold northern winters as they cannot survive the temperatures. During the fall season, they move indoors due to a lack of food sources.

While not a health threat, they are a nuisance once they enter the home and scurry over counter tops in search of food. To help prevent these tiny fast-moving pests from entering your home, be prepared by doing a visual check and sealing any openings, especially around windows and doors where they can gain entry.

When ants are on the march in your home, you need the services of a NYC pest control specialist to give them the boot. Contact our staff at Stern Environmental Group to set up an appointment for immediate action.

 

Ants, News

Find More About This “Crazy” Ant – the Tawny Crazy Ant

Businessman Listening on Telephone
Send help now, our office has been inundated by ants!

Tawny crazy ant may sound like a creature from a ’50s horror movie, but they’re all too real. While these insects themselves are not actually crazy, they can drive home and business owners to madness with their opportunistic habits.

Here are some facts about this pest that made its way up to the United States from central Brazil.

  • Tawny crazy ants are reddish-brown with a hairless, shiny head. Their colorful name comes from dense patches of yellow hair on their thorax and abdomen.
  • A colony may include several nests and several queens. As the queens leave the original nest to form new ones, the result may be a super colony where workers exhibit a strong sense of community, mixing freely between nests and sharing resources.
  • The ants are omnivorous, feeding primarily on aphids, mealy bugs and other insects that excrete a sugary liquid known as honeydew. They also eat sweet plants such as overripe fruits as well as caterpillars, spiders, termites and even small animals.
  • Their pest status comes from their tendency to infest buildings and greenhouses. Tawny crazy ants are attracted to electricity and sometimes cause equipment failures.

Don’t drive yourself crazy trying to deal with ants or other pests in your NYC business. Contact us for information about our state-of-the-art commercial pest management services that can be scheduled to accommodate your particular needs.