Farmers Weekly Review

Well, the big thaw is on, and as the soil warms up, so do the insects that spent their winters with propylene glycol as their body fluid.

With the days’ increasing sunlight and the sun warming the soil temperatures, very soon, every crawling and flying insect and their relatives will be back! Some are already.

Ants are some of the first insects that start showing up in late winter/early spring. And they are ready to party! Spring break style!

Homeowners often call me concerned because they have found a large number (like covering an entire window) of insects. And the first reaction commonly is — oh no, are they termites?

I do identify a few cases of termites every year, but most samples are ants. And it is good to know the difference. I have already been getting ant samples sent in this week.

The first and quite common sample were the ants with the most interesting characteristic. They smell like lemons when they are crushed. These fairly large, copper-colored ants are citronella ants. Getting their common name from this odd characteristic. And I am not kidding, the lemon smell is strong.

Citronella ants (Acanthomyops interjectus) also know as large yellow ants (but they aren’t really very yellow at all) are ants that nest in moist soil at, near or below our foundations.

Good news. These ants aren’t at all interested in eating our food or the wood of our house and have another interesting habit, when it comes to eating. Their main food is the excrement, or as entomologists have delicately named it, “honeydew” of aphids.

This aphid “milking” is common with many ant species. So much so that ants are often found corralling aphids into a “herd” to keep their food nearby.

These citronella ants aren’t harmful in any way, but they were inside the home. So, we discussed various chemical and non-chemical treatments they could use to achieve zero ants.

For non-chemical options, you can just vacuum them up. The rollers on the vacuum crush them. For chemical treatments, you can purchase various baits and sprays. But consider, when you spray inside, that pesticide circulates in the air. When used properly, it is fine IF the pesticide you bought specifically says for indoor use.

My personal preference is an old-fashioned bait, Terro. The University does not recommend one brand over the other, but Terro is usually the only brand we can find in our area. It is an ingenious concoction of corn syrup mixed with boric acid. The ants are drawn to the sweet, the take it back to the nest, and well, the boric acid does the rest.

This works on not only the citronella ant, but the very common ant of the kitchen. They are so small you can barely see them. They are known as sugar or grease ants, or if you are of a certain generation, another name for urine-starting with a “p” ants.

Now ants outside are a different story. Ants are great, very tiny soil aerators. If they are bothersome in a common area, just turn your hose on low and trickle water near their hill. Soon you will see those ants carrying white balls (their cocoons) away to find another Ant Air BnB elsewhere. Rarely is there a need to spray/treat ants with anything stronger outside.

And then there is the other ant that is not attracted to sweets or grease, but rather they can smell out rotting wood anywhere. The carpenter ant. Carpenter ants are much-maligned and really shouldn’t be. People will call me when they find piles of sawdust in their home, or at the base of a tree, and they are certain they must have termites.

Carpenter ants are like miniature house inspectors or non-certified arborists. They only eat rotting wood that they smell (and you can’t). They are never attracted to intact, solid wood. And that is a good thing.

The sawdust piles you see are due to carpenter ants’ habit of chewing rotten wood, but spitting it out to create galleries or nests for their offspring. Unlike carpenter ants, termites are not associated with sawdust, but rather since termites actually digest wood, their leftovers are more like dust bunnies. Not that you have ever seen a dust bunny at your own house, but I am sure you’ve seen those weird little airy puffs at someone else’s house.

So, what do people do about carpenter ants — indoors or out: they spray. And it kills those ants. But guess what? With the rotten wood still there, more carpenter ants are on the way to dine at your McRottenWood restaurant. You need to get rid of what is attracting them. You have to find the rotten wood inside and replace it.

The two most common indoor rotten wood situations are an ice dam (from ice backing up in your gutters under the eaves) or a leaking plumbing fixture. Once that is repaired, carpenter ants are no longer interested.

Outside, carpenter ants are actually at least at the start, saving your trees. Trees as they age, naturally start to rot from the inside out. Again, carpenter ants smell this rotting wood and start excavating. Carpenter ants actually slow down the damage the rot is doing inside the tree. Eventually, however, the issue becomes a problem when the trunk has rotted so much that it is actually lighter than the canopy full of leaves.

If you have a tree with carpenter ants in it, it is a good practice to have an arborist do a core sample every few years to see how strong the trunk still is. And remember, it isn’t the carpenter ants causing the problem, it is the wood rot.

It is good to know the three main differences between ants and termites, but I am always willing to identify any bug, disease, weed, or whatever nature thing you want me to.

These three differences are fairly clear: Ant body parts are three circles — head, thorax (chest) and abdomen. Termites are more like me — head, and pear-shaped body — no waist.

Antennae also are a difference. Ants all have elbowed antennae; termites have straight antennae. And finally, ants come in many colors. Termites are usually white, dark brown or black.