How to Prevent Pharaoh Ant Infestations in Palmers Green Care Homes

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Pharaoh Ant Infestations in Care Homes - Women Reading in Care Home
Unfortunately, Pharaoh ant infestations are common in residential and nursing care homes. Pharaoh ants, while small, pose a significant health risk, especially due to their ability to spread diseases. By the time the care home makes contact with us, they’ve already spent an absolute fortune on DIY product sprays, expecting ants to die off and disappear.
However, it’s normally the case that  just as they start to feel relief, the ant problem has only gone and multiplied! The culprit — Pharaoh ants. You can quickly be fooled into thinking that your DIY spray has eradicated the ants and sorted the problem, but that’s where they’ll fool you into a false sense of security. Pharaoh ant queens can quite comfortably quadruple an ant infestation as they have the ability to create more queens when threatened, and before you know it, your problem is much more significant.

What Do Pharaoh Ants Look Like?

Pharaoh ants are tiny insects that are often considered a nuisance pest. Here’s what they look like:
  • Size: Workers are about 2 millimetres long, while queens can be slightly larger.
  • Colour: They are typically yellow to light brown, with darker abdomens.
  • Body Structure: Pharaoh ants have a three-segmented body, with a distinct waist between the thorax and abdomen.
pharaoh ant infestations in care homes ants

 

Why Do Ants Appear In Greater Numbers After Spraying?

While it can be normal to see more ants for a bit after spraying or baiting for a pharaoh ant infestation, Pharaoh ant colonies are unique because they will truly produce more ants after an ant treatment. The Pharaoh ant queen will release a hormone when threatened that develops worker ants into new queens, a process known as “budding.” Since this species forms ant colonies with multiple queens, this means a pharaoh ant infestation can easily become ten times the original problem if you try to spray them away!
Pharaoh ants are known for their unique reproductive strategy: budding. This process, also referred to as “satellite colony formation” or “fractionation”, involves a portion of the original colony, including queens, workers, and brood, splitting off to establish a new nest. Budding can also take place if the colony gets too large.

Pharaoh Ant Infestations: Why Do They bud?

 

  • Overcrowding: As a colony grows, resources may become scarce, prompting some ants to seek new territory.
  • Disturbance: If a colony is disturbed or threatened, it might split to reduce the risk of extermination.
  • Environmental Factors: Changes in temperature, humidity, or food availability can also trigger budding.
Pharaoh ant colonies vary in size and are capable of having thousands of worker ants and anywhere from two to over 200 Pharaoh ant queens. The Pharaoh ant queen will produce more Pharaoh ant queens to divide the oversized colony into smaller ones which can not only make your home infestation bigger, but spread it to new locations. Additionally, Pharaoh ant queens can live between four to twelve months, so these infestations aren’t going to go away quickly if not treated properly.

Challenges of Dealing With Budding Pharaoh Ants

 

  • Rapid infestation: Budding can lead to multiple colonies spreading throughout a building, making eradication difficult.
  • Resistance to treatment: Conventional methods like spraying insecticides may not be effective against established colonies.
  • Health risks: Pharaoh ants can carry and transmit pathogens, including bacteria and viruses.

What Attracts Pharaoh Ants?

Pharaoh ants are attracted to a variety of things, including:
  • Food: They are particularly fond of sweet, greasy, and protein-rich foods, such as honey, syrup, meat, and cheese.
  • Moisture: They need moisture to survive, so they are often found in areas with high humidity, such as kitchens, bathrooms, and basements.
  • Warmth: They prefer warm temperatures, so they are often found in heated buildings.
  • Nest sites: They prefer to nest in small, dark spaces, such as cracks in walls, electrical outlets, and appliances.
Unfortunately, residential and nursing care homes are vulnerable to Pharaoh ants,  and while small, pose a significant health risk, especially due to their ability to spread diseases. Here’s why:
  • Disease Transmission: These ants can carry and transmit various bacteria, including Salmonella, Staphylococcus, and Pseudomonas. They can pick up these pathogens from contaminated food, waste, or other environments and then spread them to patients, staff, and visitors.
  • Contamination of Food and Medical Supplies: Pharaoh ants are attracted to food and moisture, making them likely to infest food preparation areas, patient meals, and even medical equipment. This contamination can lead to foodborne illnesses and infections.
  • Infestation of Wounds: These ants can crawl into open wounds, potentially introducing bacteria and causing infections. This is particularly concerning for patients with compromised immune systems or recent surgeries.
  • Difficulty in Eradication: Pharaoh ants are notoriously difficult to eliminate due to their ability to form multiple colonies and their resistance to certain insecticides.  This makes it challenging to control infestations in care homes, where strict hygiene standards are essential.

How to Prevent Pharaoh Ant Infestations

  • Maintain cleanliness: Regularly clean and disinfect food preparation areas, residents rooms, and common areas.
  • Inspect for signs of infestation: Look for ants, their trails, or damaged food packaging.
  • Implement pest control measures: Work with professional pest control services to identify and eliminate infestations promptly.
  • Educate staff and visitors: Ensure that everyone is aware of the risks posed by Pharaoh ants and how to help prevent infestations. It’s also helpful for staff to be able to tell the difference between Black ants and Pharaoh ants.
By taking these steps, care homes can significantly reduce the risk of Pharaoh ant infestations and protect the health and wellbeing of residents, visitors and staff.

How to Get Rid of Pharaoh Ants

This ant species can be extremely difficult to eliminate. Do NOT spray insecticides to get rid of Pharaoh ants! Professional ant baits will work much better, however, the best way to control and eliminate these pests is to reach out to professional exterminators.
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These baits are sweet, attracting the colony to them.  Control of Pharaoh ants requires a special formulation of insecticide, which is sweet, attracting the colony to them. Failure to control all the queens and workers can result in the colony’s survival. Rather than attempting to exclusively poison Pharaoh ants we will often start the baiting strategy with an application of professional insecticide gel and then the introduction of a granular bait insecticide. This prevents the ant larvae from maturing into adults. This also sterilises the queens to stop them laying eggs, causing disorders in the development of the ant larvae. In this manner, the ant population will gradually drop off of its own accord.

Sparta Pest Control’s Pharaoh Ant Removal

If you come across a Pharaoh ants, or you’re looking for ant removal treatment in your care home, look no further than Sparta Pest Control, your pharaoh ant infestation exterminators. Contact us today.

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Sparta Pest Control

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