First let's examine some key elements of ant colonies.

Ants start colonies to nest, protect the queen, and feed their young. A single colony can contain 100,000 to 500,000 ants, some exceeding that depending on species. The inner workings of an ant colony are very orderly. They can be hard to eliminate once they are established. We put together a list of the top 4 reasons ant colonies are so difficult to tackle.

1) Location

The spaces where ants start colonies are usually hard-to-access spots. It's common to find large infestations in places like crevices in sidewalks, under rocks, in soil, and even indoors under flooring or carpet. You likely have happened upon a mound of soil that shows ant activity while walking around outdoors. The problem is the heart of the ant colony is usually not so easily seen. The ants you are looking at in that mound are only a small portion of the colony, the majority are deeper underground. This makes them very difficult to eliminate. You can reach a few hundred of them but it is unlikely that you'll get them all.

2) The Queen

The queen and the concentrated population of worker ants and eggs around her must be eliminated to knock out an entire ant colony. When you try to get rid of ants with DIY methods you'll usually only get the workers and won't get the queen. She stays protected in the heart of the colony. She does not leave, even to search for food, her sole purpose is to lay eggs. Depending on the species of ant, the queen may be easy or hard to identify. In some species, the queen is significantly larger than the other ants in the colony. Even if you removed most of the other ants, if she remains the colony continues to thrive. Without her, the colony will die.

3) Mobility

When ants are disturbed, they quickly react. They will gather eggs and relocate as many as they possibly can. You may have observed this behavior if you've ever uncovered unsuspecting ants when moving a plant or a rock in a garden. Ants have an ingrained instinct to save their eggs no matter what. They are very fast and capable of moving a large number of eggs to a safer location. They can relocate an entire colony when they feel threatened.

4) Ineffectiveness of DIY products

Most consumer pesticides people use at home are not potent enough (nor applied correctly) to tackle ant infestations. Once you notice them it's very likely a colony is already established. You may kill a dozen or even a few hundred ants with DIY methods but you cannot kill them all. Getting to the colony and the queen is not an easy task. Excessive use of ineffective products can also result in the ants developing immunity against them, so it can be a never-ending process.

Professional pest control is your best option to effectively and safely handle pest infestations. Eagle Pest Services is committed to providing excellent and professional pest control service to our customers. Give us a call today at 1-888-616-8739.