Ants

Ants are incredibly capable and intelligent creatures. Though harmless, they can be a nuisance when they get into your home or business premises. Their complex and cooperative societies allow them to survive and thrive in conditions that would be otherwise challenging to us. Here are some interesting facts that you may want to know about this small but amazing pest.

• The total weight of all the ants in the world is the same, if not larger than all humans added together.
• Ants are capable of carrying objects 50 times their own body weight with their mandibles.
• Ants communicate and cooperate by using pheromones that can alert others to danger or lead them to a promising food source.
• Foraging worker ants can travel up to 200 metres from their nest and find their way back to the colony by following scent trails left by others.
• Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the dinosaur period between 110 and 130 million years ago.
• Ants can survive underwater for 24 hours.
• Ants belong to the insect order Hymenoptera. They are close relatives of bees and wasps.
• Each colony can hold up to half a million ants. They can all get up and go very quickly if the colony is threatened.
• Worker ants can live for up to 7 years, while a queen can live for up to 15 years.

Negative impacts of ants infestation

• Food poisoning – ants can contaminate food because you don’t know where they’ve been foraging before crawling over your food.
• Nasty bites – ant bites though harmless, can be itchy and causes discomfort.
• Reputation – having an ant infestation in business premises can be unsightly to customers.
• Business losses – compromised health and hygiene can lead to lost trading revenue in food related business.

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