Ants in the Temecula/Murrieta area can be a problem throughout the year, and their populations increase as we enter the spring and summer seasons.

The main culprits that come into your kitchen and bathrooms are the Argentine ants. These ants thrive in temperate regions, killing and displacing our native ants, many of which are 10 times larger in size. They sometimes enter homes by traveling on water pipes, wiring, and tree branches. Outside, they like to nest under potted plants, bricks, concrete slabs, and anything else that will offer protection and moisture.

The Argentine ant is a small, shiny brown ant. The workers are about 1/12 to 1/8 inch long; the queens are larger, sometimes 1/4 inch in length. A single colony of these ants can have hundreds of queens and 10,000 workers; most yards in our area have a multitude of these colonies. Even though the workers usually live about a month, the queens can live up to 10 years.

Depending upon the season, these ants forage for food that contains sugar (in the warmer months) and food that contains protein (in the cooler months). They also are attracted to decaying organic matter, giving them the potential to carry and spread disease. Their vast numbers can make outdoor dining and recreation very unpleasant.

CONTROL:  We now have methods to use the ants’ own natural trailing and communal living behaviors against them, to help rid your home of these intruders.