Strategies To Reduce Ant Call Backs

                                                                           

 We all know that controlling ants can be a major problem for the modern pest controller. 

Achieving longevity of control requires colony elimination. We cannot expect to achieve quick and sustained control with a repellent band spray around the exterior of a property. Traditional treatments of repellent barriers are simply ineffective over a period of time and invariably lead to call backs. Synthetic pyrethroids when used on their own will kill ants on contact. Basic pyrethroid technology however, will breakdown quickly due to UV degradation, allowing the ants to re-enter, creating issues for homeowners or commercial customers.

Demand contains micro encapsulation technology that allows the product to persist in an exterior environment far longer than non-encapsulated technologies. Micro encapsulation also reduces the amount of repellency compared to other synthetic pyrethroids. The higher the repellency the less likely the ants are to come in contact with the product and receive a lethal dose, meaning they will invariably find a way around the treatment and re-enter the property, leading to a call back. Synthetic pyrethroids are best used as a barrier treatment to keep ants out of a property once the population has been controlled. This preventative approach is idea] when ants are not active at the property.

Colony Control

Modern strategies for ant populations are all about colony control. Ant gel baits such as Advion and Optigard are routinely used for colony control treatments when treating ants inside properties. This technique is now widely accepted as the most efficient way to control ant colonies, Pest managers often have both gels on board and can perform a simple taste test for the ant population to determine the most preferable product and ensure fast uptake of the active ingredients. In order to provide a higher level of control a non-repellent spray can also be applied in and around baiting sites for large populations. 

Arilon is a non-repellent product that ii registered for use both indoors and outdoors reducing the need to remix the spray solution. Arilon is not only non-repellent but exhibits delayed mortality, enabling the ants to share the product with their nest mates increasing the chances of colony control. Colony control is a numbers driven game: the larger the colony the more toxicant you will need to control the colony. This is why a small placement of gel might sometimes be enough to remove the problem whilst in other situations control will not be achieved with the same amount of gel bait. The addition of Arilon assists this process as you are applying more toxicant to the area enabling a greater amount of transfer through the colony and a greater chance of colony control. The treatment strategy to avoid a call back would involve:

• Adequate amounts of gel bait placed around trails in conjunction with a comprehensive indoor and outdoor spray of Arilon to ensure enough toxicant enters the colony

• A maintenance treatment, with a product like Demand that will provide a barrier that excludes ants and other pests from entering the property. Ideally gel baits should be the first treatment applied, so the pest manager can assess the rates of consumption whilst on the job. It is not unusual for a large colony to consume all the bait placed within an hour; if this does occur more bait should be applied immediately as this indicates a large colony is present.

Specialised ant control range from Bayer

Bayer's specialised ant control range features the outstanding residual spray Temprid, arguably the most powerful ant treatment product available. The leading ant bait, Maxforce Quantum, which is the ideal companion, enabling effective control of sugar feeding ants in even the most sensitive areas, and the new ant granule, Maxforce Complete, a food bait attractive to protein, fats and oil feeding ants to give the pest managers everything they need to control these difficult pests.

Doug McCarron, territory sales manager at Bayer said, "By far the greatest positive of Temprid is its outstanding performance as a residual barrier against ants. The results are simply incredible; not just better than any pyrethroid but superior to ally other group of chemistry I have used against ants. The great strength of Temprid on ants is its powerful residual characteristics that go to work instantly solving the invasion issue of ants into homes and businesses.

"Integrating baiting technology such as Maxforce Quantum and Maxforce Complete to control internal infestations and external areas adjacent to your barrier smashes ants so hard they do not recover for many months," he said.

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