Pest Remedies-A:
Ant
Order: Hymenoptera; Family: Formicidae
Description:
Generally black, red, amber or a combination. Waist is pinched, large jaws and elbowed
antenna. They move rapidly and are capable of lifting large objects relative to their
size. Some spray formic acid which causes a strong burning sensation which is often
incorrectly described as a sting. There are a large number of species (1). See specific
specie for more precise information.
Range: Throughout U.S.A.
Life Cycle:
Winged males and females hatch each year and after mating the males die and the
fertilized females (queens) each establish their own nest where they start laying large
numbers of eggs to form a colony. The eggs mostly hatch into workers  that tend the female and care for
the young, the female and defend the colony.
Hosts/Damage:
Ants are hosted in wood, foodstuffs, dead animals, etc. Certain ants (e.g. Carpenter
ants) can damage wood similar to termites. Others (e.g. Moisture ants) contaminate
foodstuffs in kitchens. Outside some tend aphids like cattle which encourages plant damage
by aphids.
Controls:
Cultural - Sticky barriers. Keep wood dry.
Biological -
Antlion are natural enemies. Microbial pesticide avermectin prevents the queen ant from
laying eggs so the colony slowly dies out.
Chemical -
Boric acid, soap sprays, pyrethrum. Various other sprays and baits are available at
your nursery or hardware store. Follow label instructions carefully to avoid injury to
your plant, yourself, your pets or the environment.
1. Some common species are: Acorn (Leptothorax spp.), Allegheny Mound (Formica
exsectoides), Argentine (Indomyrmex humilis), Carpenter (Camponotus sp.),
Crazy (Paratrechina longicornis), Fire (Solenopsis sp.), Moisture or
Cornfield (Lasius sp.), Odorous House (Tapinoma sessile), Pavement (Tetramorium
caespitum) and Pharoah (Monomorium pharaonis).
Ant, Acorn (Leptothorax spp.)
Order: Hymenoptera; Family: Formicidae
Description: Generally black or red. Waist is pinched, large jaws and elbowed antenna.
They are very small; about 1/16" (2 mm).
Range: Southern Vermont and New Hampshire West through Southern Ontario to the Western
limits of Eastern deciduous forests in Iowa and Kansas, South to the Gulf coast.
Life Cycle: Winged males and females hatch each year and after mating the males die and
the fertilized females (queens) each establish their own nest where they start laying
large numbers of eggs to form a colony. The eggs mostly hatch into workers that tend the female and care for
the young, the female and defend the colony.
Hosts/Damage: Ants are hosted in oak acorns (especially Northern Red Oak) and hollow
stems of plants such as milkweed.
Controls:
Cultural - Sticky barriers.
Biological - Antlion are natural enemies. Microbial pesticide avermectin prevents the
queen ant from laying eggs so the colony slowly dies out.
Chemical - Boric acid, soap sprays, pyrethrum. Various other sprays and baits are
available at your nursery or hardware store. Follow label instructions carefully to
avoid injury to your plant, yourself, your pets or the environment.
References:
Acorn Ants, J. Copeland, Mass.
Wildlife, Summer 1995, Mass. Div. of Fisheries and Wildlife.
Ant, Allegheny Mound (Formica exsectoides)
Order: Hymenoptera; Family: Formicidae
Description: Red-brown head and thorax, black-brown abdomen. Waist is pinched with one
pedicel, large jaws and elbowed antenna. They feed mainly on insect honeydew.
Range: Eastern U.S.A.
Life Cycle: Winged males and females hatch each year and after mating the males die and
the fertilized females (queens) each establish their own nest where they start laying
large numbers of eggs to form a colony. The eggs mostly hatch into workers that tend the female and care for
the young, the female and defend the colony.
Hosts/Damage: Ants produce large mounds, 2 - 3 feet high and up to 8 feet across. Small
trees and shrubs are killed within 35 feet of a mound by their formic acid they inject
into the plants. They damage forests.
Controls:
Cultural - Sticky barriers. Keep wood dry.
Biological - Antlion are natural enemies. Microbial pesticide avermectin prevents the
queen ant from laying eggs so the colony slowly dies out.
Chemical - Boric acid, soap sprays, pyrethrum. Various other sprays and baits are
available at your nursery or hardware store. Follow label instructions carefully to
avoid injury to your plant, yourself, your pets or the environment.
Ant, Argentine (Iridomyrmex humilis)
Order: Hymenoptera; Family: Formicidae
Description: Brown and about 2 - 3 mm (1/8") long. Waist is pinched with one
pedicel, large jaws and elbowed antenna.
Range: Throughout Southern U.S.A, from California to East coast.
Life Cycle: Winged males and females hatch each year and after mating the males die and
the fertilized females (queens) each establish their own nest where they start laying
large numbers of eggs to form a colony. The eggs mostly hatch into workers that tend the female and care for
the young, the female and defend the colony. Yhey nest in large colonies in dark, moist
places and travel in definite trails.
Hosts/Damage: They are very injurious to citrus and other fruits and to shade trees.
They also attack blossoms and distribute aphids, mealybugs and scale insects.
Controls:
Cultural - Sticky barriers.
Biological - Antlion are natural enemies. Microbial pesticide avermectin prevents the
queen ant from laying eggs so the colony slowly dies out.
Chemical - Boric acid, soap sprays, pyrethrum. Various other sprays and baits are
available at your nursery or hardware store. Follow label instructions carefully to
avoid injury to your plant, yourself, your pets or the environment.
Ant, Carpenter (Camponotus sp.)
Order: Hymenoptera; Family: Formicidae
Description: Generally black, sometimes with red, amber or a combination. Waist is
pinched with one pedicel, large jaws in workers and elbowed antenna. They move rapidly and
are capable of lifting large objects relative to their size. Length 6 - 10 mm. Photo: Courtesy of D. Buchanan of All Natural Pest Control Co., Ltd. (11/96)
Range: Throughout U.S.A.
Life Cycle: Winged males and females hatch each year starting in the Spring and after
mating the males die and the fertilized females (queens) each establish their own nest
where they start laying large numbers of eggs to form a colony. The eggs mostly hatch into
workers that tend the female
and care for the young, the female and defend the colony. The life cycle from egg to adult
takes about 65 days from egg to adult, depending on the temperature.
Hosts/Damage: Ants are hosted in wood, foodstuffs, dead animals, etc. Eat dead animals,
insects, etc. Burrow out wood for habitat and tend to attack wet or decaying wood. They
can damage wood similar to termites. Normally nest in dead stumps and debris around wooded
areas. They can bite hard!
Controls:
Cultural - Sticky barriers. Keep wood dry. Keep old, dead stumps,trees and debris at
least 50 feet from buildings.
Biological - Antlion are natural enemies. Microbial pesticide avermectin prevents the
queen ant from laying eggs so the colony slowly dies out.
Chemical - Boric acid, soap sprays, pyrethrum. Various other sprays and baits are
available at your nursery or hardware store. Follow label instructions carefully to
avoid injury to your plant, yourself, your pets or the environment. If you are uncertain
as to the remedy, it is wise to call a Pest Control Operator; refer to the Yellow Pages in
your phone book.
References:
Univ. of Deleware Coop.
Ext. Bull. HYG - 12
Ant, Crazy (Paratrechina longicornis)
Order: Hymenoptera; Family: Formicidae
Description: Long legs and erratic movement.
Range: Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas. Introduced from India.
Life Cycle: Winged males and females hatch each year and after mating the males die and
the fertilized females (queens) each establish their own nest where they start laying
large numbers of eggs to form a colony. The eggs mostly hatch into workers that tend the female and care for
the young, the female and defend the colony.
Hosts/Damage: Grease, sweets and other insects. Household pest.
Controls:
Cultural - Sticky barriers. Keep debris removed.
Biological - Microbial pesticide avermectin prevents the queen ant from laying eggs so
the colony slowly dies out.
Chemical - Boric acid, soap sprays, pyrethrum. Poison kiosks are effective because the
workers carry the bait back to the queen who dies and that destroys the colony's capacity
to carry on as the workers are killed. Various sprays are available at your nursery or
hardware store. Follow label instructions carefully to avoid injury to your plant,
yourself, your pets or the environment.
Ant, Fire (Solenopsis sp.)
(Two common species are California or Southern Fire Ant, xyloni and Red
Imported Fire Ant, invicta.)
Order: Hymenoptera; Family: Formicidae
Description: Generally red. Waist is pinched, large jaws and elbowed antenna. They move
rapidly and are very aggressive. Spray formic acid which causes a strong burning sensation
which is often incorrectly described as a sting. Acid is painful and can kill small
animals if attack is repeated. Length about 1/4" (6 mm).
Range: Lower 2/3 of U.S.A.
Life Cycle: Winged males and females hatch each year and after mating the males die and
the fertilized females (queens) each establish their own nest where they start laying
large numbers of eggs to form a colony. The eggs mostly hatch into workers in about 30 day cycles that tend
the female and care for the young, the female and defend the colony. Workers live about 6
months and queen lives 2 - 6 years.
Hosts/Damage: Ants nest in mounds about 1 - 2 feet in diameter and may have up to about
250,000 workers in colony. Will eat most animal materials. Prefer desert type conditions.
Controls:
Cultural - Sticky barriers.
Biological - Antlion are natural enemies. Microbial pesticide avermectin prevents the
queen ant from laying eggs so the colony slowly dies out.
Chemical - Boric acid, soap sprays, pyrethrum. Various other sprays and baits are
available at your nursery or hardware store. Follow label instructions carefully to
avoid injury to your plant, yourself, your pets or the environment.
Ant, Moisture
Order: Hymenoptera; Family: Formicidae
Description: Generally black. They are small.
Range: Throughout U.S.A.
Life Cycle: Winged males and females hatch each year and after mating the males die and
the fertilized females (queens) each establish their own nest where they start laying
large numbers of eggs to form a colony. The eggs mostly hatch into workers that tend the female and care for
the young, the female and defend the colony.
Hosts/Damage: Ants are hosted in foodstuffs, dead animals, etc. Moisture ants
contaminate foodstuffs in kitchens.
Controls:
Cultural - Sticky barriers. Keep wood dry.
Biological - Antlion are natural enemies. Microbial pesticide avermectin prevents the
queen ant from laying eggs so the colony slowly dies out.
Chemical - Boric acid, soap sprays, pyrethrum. Poison kiosks are effective because the
workers carry the bait back to the queen who dies and that destroys the colony's capacity
to carry on as the workers are killed. Various sprays are available at your nursery or
hardware store. Follow label instructions carefully to avoid injury to your plant,
yourself, your pets or the environment.
Ant, Pavement (Tetramorium caespitum)
Order: Hymenoptera; Family: Formicidae
Description: Dark brown and about 3/16" (5 mm) long.
Range: Eastern and Midwestern U.S. Introduced from Europe.
Life Cycle: Winged males and females hatch each year and after mating the males die and
the fertilized females (queens) each establish their own nest where they start laying
large numbers of eggs to form a colony. The eggs mostly hatch into workers that tend the female and care for
the young, the female and defend the colony.
Hosts/Damage: Ants are hosted along sidewalks, building foundations and under sticks,
stones, boards, mulch, etc. Also common in lawns
Controls:
Cultural - Sticky barriers. Seal up holes and cracks in foundations. Keep area dry but
that is only partially effective.
Biological - Microbial pesticide avermectin prevents the queen ant from laying eggs so
the colony slowly dies out.
Chemical - Boric acid, soap sprays, pyrethrum. Poison kiosks are effective because the
workers carry the bait back to the queen who dies and that destroys the colony's capacity
to carry on as the workers are killed. Various sprays are available at your nursery or
hardware store. Follow label instructions carefully to avoid injury to your plant,
yourself, your pets or the environment.
Ant, Pharoah (Monomorium pharaonis)
Order: Hymenoptera; Family: Formicidae
Description: Yellow with red abdomen with uneven thorax. About 1/16" (2 mm) in
length. Their antenna has 12 segments with a three segmented club on the end. They are
sometimes confused with the Thief ant which has 10/2 segments. Slow moving.
Range: Throughout U.S.A usually in heated buildings because they are native to tropical
Africa and can't survive in cold climates outside.
Life Cycle: Winged males and females hatch each year and after mating the males die and
the fertilized females (queens) each establish their own nest where they start laying
large numbers of eggs to form a colony. The eggs mostly hatch into workers that tend the female and care for
the young, the female and defend the colony.
Hosts/Damage: Ants are hosted in dark voids in buildings or in folded paper or bags in
colder areas of the U.S. or in various litter in milder areas. They look for food and
water sources around human habitats.
Controls:
Cultural - Sticky barriers. Keep debris, water and foodstuffs cleaned up.
Biological - Microbial pesticide avermectin prevents the queen ant from laying eggs so
the colony slowly dies out.
Chemical - Boric acid. Poison kiosks are effective because the workers carry the bait
back to the queen who dies and that destroys the colony's capacity to carry on as the
workers are killed. Contact poisons are avoided by the ants and tend to agravate the
problem. Various sprays are available at your nursery or hardware store. Follow label
instructions carefully to avoid injury to your plant, yourself, your pets or the
environment.
Aphid
Order: Homoptera; Family: Aphididae
Description:
Adults, up to
3/8" (10 mm), pear shaped with soft bodies, two tube-like structures sticking out
from their rear end, long antenna, have wings usually in July - August, very slow moving
and tend to cluster in large groups, colors are usually pale amber, green or orange but
can be almost any color, there are about 1350 species (1). Nymphs, similar to
adults but smaller and wingless.
Range: Throughout U.S.A.
Life Cycle:
Prolific reproduction capability ensures their survival in many cases. They reproduce
by mating and also have a capability to reproduce without a mate. Most young are produced
live without an egg stage during the early part of the year but move into egg laying stage
after a winged form of male and female types are created in the mid-Summer period.
Host/Damage:
They suck the sap out of a host plant and sometimes infect it with viruses. The aphid
does not completely digest the sap so a honeydew is exuded which usually results in black
mold which also is harmful to the host. The honeydew attracts ants so they oftentimes tend
the aphids like cattle to obtain the honeydew. Most plants that go through a tender stage
are susceptible to aphid attack.
Controls:
Cultural -
Control ants. Hand pick or wash off aphids with a water spray. Remove parts of plant
with large quantity of aphids and destroy. Sticky traps.
Biological -
Use aphid midges, green lacewings or ladybird beetles. Recently, a ladybug lure (2) has
been made available which could be useful in attracting them from the wild or holding
introduced ones until they control the aphids.
Chemical -
Soap or oil sprays. Pyrethrum or neem. Various other sprays and powders are available
at your nursery or hardware store. Follow label instructions carefully to avoid injury
to your plant, yourself, your pets or the environment.
1. Territorial Seed Co., P.O. Box 157, Cottage Grove, OR 97424; ph 541-942-9547.
2. Some other common species are: Alder (Euceraphis gillettei and Oestlundiella
flava), Alfalfa (Macrosiphum creelii), American Maple (Periphyllus
americanus), American Walnut (Monelliopsis caryae), Apple (Aphis pomi),
Asparagus (Brachycolus asparagi), Bow-legged Fir (Cinara curvipes),
Giant Willow (Lachnus salignis), Lettuce Root (Pemphigus populitransvers)
and Woolly Apple (Erisoma lanigerum).
Aphid, Asparagus (Brachycolus
asparagi)
Order: Homoptera; Family: Aphididae
Description:
Adults, small, pear
shaped with soft bodies, two very short tube-like structures sticking out from their rear
end, very slow moving and tend to cluster in large groups, colors of winged and wingless
aphids are usually powdery grey to green and are about 1/32" (1 mm) long. Eggs,
initially shiny green when first laid but turn black within a few hours.
Range:
Prefer areas of low rainfall and humidity. It is native to Europe but was first
reported in the U.S. in 1969 in New York and has since spread to many areas.
Life Cycle:
The aphid passes the winter in the egg stage which are laid around November by the
females. The eggs are laid singly on host stems under bracts at the base of the plant.
Eggs hatch in the Spring and the first nymphs feed on the host spears as they emerge from
the ground. The aphid has four nymph stages through the Summer and the females have live
births. Winged or wingless forms are produced throughout the Summer with the first winged
forms appearing in May. There are many generations each year. The winged male aphids
appear in the Fall which fertilize the females to begin a new annual cycle.
Host/Damage:
They appear to be found only on asparagus. They suck the sap out of a host plant
especially at the terminal fern growth in the axils where the needles join the stem. The
aphid does not completely digest the sap so a honeydew is exuded. The leaves and stems
acquire a tufted appearance. Heavily infested seedlings may form rosettes, shrivel and
die. Plants less than 3 years old are often killed. Older plants may survive but with
considerable damage or dwarfing.
Controls:
Cultural -
Hand pick or wash off aphids with a water spray. Remove parts of plant with large
quantity of aphids and destroy. Sticky traps. Remove early season ferns and spears from
host.
Biological - Use aphid midges, green lacewings or ladybugs.
Chemical -
Soap or oil sprays. Pyrethrum or neem. Various other sprays and powders are available
at your nursery or hardware store. Follow label instructions carefully to avoid injury
to your plant, yourself, your pets or the environment.
Last edited: 11/23/98 08:58 PM
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