Acrobat Ant
Nest Sites/Characteristics: Indoors, nests may be located where water damage has occurred, in decayed or damp wood or inside insulating wall panels and wall voids. Outdoors, acrobat ants nest under rocks or in logs, firewood or trees where decay allows them to tunnel under bark or into wood.
Workers trail along tree limbs, utility lines and rails of fences and decks, entering structures through cracks and holes around utility lines or pipes,
window frames and soffits. Workers also trail across the ground and enter through door thresholds and small openings. Acrobat ants are aggressive when disturbed and give off a strong odor.
Feeding Preferences: Acrobat ants eat a wide variety of foods, including sweets and proteins. Workers like honeydew from sap-sucking insects (aphids,mealybugs, scale insects). These ants also prey on termite alates and immature stages of cotton boll weevil, grape curculio and codling moth.
Control: Thoroughly inspect and locate as many indoor and outdoor acrobat ant colonies as possible and treat them directly with Temprid SC, Tempo or Suspend.
• To treat colonies in wood, drill holes into galleries and inject insecticide dust (Drione or Tempo), insecticide foam (Premise) or residual sprays (Temprid SC, Tempo or Suspend). Access wall voids and inject dust or foam.
• For colonies foraging from the outside, seal cracks and crevices and trim vegetation in contact with the structure. Spot treat likely entrance sites or make a complete perimeter application with residual insecticide sprays.
• Remove colonies in firewood by discarding infested wood.
• Place ant bait stations indoors or outdoors adjacent to the structure and immediately next to ant trails or where ants are numerous.
Use Maxforce Complete Granular Insect Bait around the outside of the structure. Apply Maxforce Quantum or Maxforce Ant Killer Bait Gel on foraging trails and areas of suspected ant activity.
