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Monitoring using either attractant baits (honey & sausage meat or tuna) or hand/visual searching is best done during warm, dry weather when the ants are most active.
Summer is ideal for this but any activity will decrease once the temperature gets above 26 degrees ºC. So on hot days monitoring is best done early morning or late afternoon.
This is desirable but highly unlikely, even with a well planned and executed baiting programme. This is because killing the last 1% of the population can be the most difficult and re invasion from surrounding property may occur. So have realistic expectations that you will reduce the numbers by over 90% but achieving eradication is probably unlikely. Control of the infestation and keeping ant numbers low for your enjoyment and lifestyle is the best bet in managing the long term impacts of this ant.
It is important to remove any other food competition when ant baiting, for best results leave the bait alone once the ants start feeding on it. Long acting slow release baits mean that the entire nest and any satellite nests get a full dose of poison.
Using protein baits over the warmer months when there is maximum requirement for protein to feed larvae is your best method.
When baiting, it is desirable to have slow acting bait, as products that kill too rapidly will not allow enough time for foraging ants to take the bait back home to share with the queen, brood and nest mates. The primary objective of baiting is to kill the entire colony, including the queen, rather than just the foragers.
Three products which control the Argentine ant are:
Advion Gel is a carbohydrate-based bait, with indoxacarb as the active ingredient. This product may be useful when ants are not foraging actively on protein baits. However, as this bait does not contain protein (which is required to kill the queen) Advion Gel must be used in conjunction with Advion Arenas to kill the entire nest which is the only way to provide reasonable control.
Baiting Information:
- Advion Gel is packaged in a small syringe and a small amount is applied to areas where ants are trailing.
- If the bait becomes too dry, moisture in the form of dew, high humidity or light rain will rehydrate the deposits so they continue to be effective.
Advion Arenas are long lasting bait housed within a plastic bait station that can be moved around the property. They contain both sugars (carbohydrates) and protein, which the ants require during differing times of the colony’s life cycle. The active ingredient is indoxacarb.
Baiting Information:
- If Advion Arenas are being used as a primary control method, bait stations should be laid out in an 8m x 8m grid on your property. However, this product is best suited to supplement the performance of Advion Ant Gel or Xstinguish and should be placed near to active ant trails.
- If all of the bait has been eaten the arenas should be replaced with fresh arenas so the colony gets a lethal dose.
- Check contents of bait stations every week, as they are also attractive to small snails and slugs.
- Bait not consumed should last up to 3 months.
Xtinguish paste is a bait containing both protein and carbohydrate attractants. The active ingredient is fipronil (a common ingredient in flea control products for cats and dogs) which is carried back to the nest and fed to the queen, young and other workers. It generally takes approximately 2-3 weeks for the full effect of the bait to be seen. These baits have no effect on humans, cats or dogs. However fipronil is toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates, so baits should be kept clear of street gutters, and should not be laid within 3 metres of a water course or water body.
This bait is most palatable when moist, but it dries out rapidly when exposed to direct sunlight during the heat of the day. It is recommended that the bait is laid after the hottest part of the day or in the early evening, as ants continue to forage at night during warmer weather.
Baiting Information:
- Lay 1 gram blobs on a 2m x 2m grid over the whole property, including lawns. Where you have bark gardens, a 1m x 1m grid is advised.
- Aim to lay 325g of bait for the average residential section, (about 800 square meters). Increase the bait density for hilly/rough/untidy terrain and reduce it for industrial sites with large areas of tarmac.
- Baiting like this is labour intensive and will take about 2 hours to bait an average size urban property.
- Ensure all baits are covered to prevent premature drying (i.e. with a leaf, piece of bark, etc).
- Keep bait refrigerated once opened.
- Do not lay baits in street gutters or within 3 meters of a water course.
- Rebaiting may be required 6-8 weeks later (late summer) to kill any survivors and any ants that have subsequently hatched.
- Ensure temperatures are above 15 degrees.
- Bait all infested areas on the same day to achieve the best results.
- There is no need to grid bait large areas of concrete, tar seal or gravel – just place bait in grooves and cracks and around the outside edge areas.
- Don’t mow your lawn the week prior to your control. The longer grass will help shade the bait and reduce the amount of covering needed.
- When baiting along grass/concrete edges, lift the edge of the grass up, lay the bait underneath and gently let the grass back down on the bait.
- Don’t water the baited areas until at least the following day.
- Young children should avoid playing in baited areas for at least 24 hours.
- Keep dogs out of the baited area for 24 hours as they may eat the bait it will not do them any harm, but means the bait is unavailable to the ants.
- Do not lay baits inside the house or garage.
Purchase of these baits is from Farmlands in Napier and Hastings.