Katy Pest Scription

Sugar Ants of Katy, Texas

As families gather in kitchens over the city to make tasty goodies and holiday meals, insects in the neighborhood may come in from the cool weather to help themselves to the treats. Bah humbug!

There are a number of small ants that like to feed on sweets indoors. Commonly referred to as “sugar ants,” which isn’t an ant specie at all, the most common identified are Rover, Pharaoh, Crazy, Ghost, and the Fire Ant, with the occasional Honey, Little Black, Acrobat, or White Footed Ant thrown in for good measure. All these ants also need protein and water, and may even be found under the Christmas tree feeding on popcorn strings or flour in handmade plaster ornaments.

Usually, the first reaction to the insect sighting is to pull out the trusty bug spray and squirt their trails. This procedure can be fairly gratifying and may appear to eliminate the problem initially. However, most insecticides are repellent and the ants that survive the ill-conceived attack must go somewhere else to feed – the guest room, perhaps; relatives will love that! Better to choose a simpler approach.

Use a dust buster or vacuum cleaner and suck them into the reservoir, along with a bit of insecticide dust such as boric acid if you have some, then throw away the collection. If you don’t have any insecticide dust or just don’t want to use it, try a shot of liquid soap in some water. This will suffocate the ants and not leave a repellent residual.

Thereafter, I recommend you contact JNJ Pest Control and Grounds Care, Inc. to schedule a time when we can identify the ant that is the nuisance and develop an appropriate control program using a combination of baits and non-repellent insecticides based on the habits of the specific critter.

We wish you a very happy and safe holiday season! FLEAS NAVIDAD!