Pest Control Baits – Fire Ants and Harvester Ants

You know I am often amazed how effective baits are in pest control.

Red Imported Fire Ant

The Fire Ant Bait

I sit in awe as fire ants emerge from an ant mound that was just disturbed by a human hand, and upon finding what smells like food, they quickly gather it in and take it down to their colony. How do they so easily forget that the hand that destroyed their peaceful rest is the hand dropping this tainted bait? Yet their swarm of furry and haste to horrid food ultimately leads to the demise of the entire strong hold. Oh little fire ant, leave the bait be.

The Harvester Ant Bait

Harvester Ant

Harvester Ants are  a bit smarter. Any bait laid directly on their mound is not trusted. They simply sweep it aside. Therefore to bait a harvester ant one must be a little more patient and not so direct. Sprinkle the bait about 6 inches from the mound. Do not disturb the mound. Let them be. Be subtle in your attack. Then patiently wait for the ants to emerge and search for food in their normal way.

Morale of the Story?

Sun Tzu says “Know the opponent and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.”

As a pest control operator, if you don’t know the opponent then you are not going to know the best way to conquer. You must also be willing to know yourself. Which means knowing your limitations and being honest enough to stop and say, “I don’t know how to win this one.” Being brazen and forward moving as if you know everything may be the quickest way to prove you know nothing. Do that publicly and you will damage your reputation. It is better to be still and move when you know what your best move is. It is best with customers to acknowledge that you might need to do a little more research and work to make sure the problem is solved properly.