If you’ve ever wondered about queen ants, you’re in the right place. For over 75 years now, Terminix has been the trusted source across the Southeast for all of those pest-related questions that have been bugging you.
In addition to providing pest control services (backed by the strongest guarantee in the industry), our team of local, experienced technicians are experts when it comes to all things bugs. And we’re always just a phone call away.
Whether you’ve got a burning question you need answered or are worried it might be time to start considering professional extermination for ants (and any other pests that might pop up), you can trust Terminix to come through with a reliable solution.
Here’s a few questions we heard recently:
“If I have enough ants in captivity without a queen will they select one?” one reader wrote in.
“Say I dug up a huge ant nest, and the queen is killed in the process. I tried digging one up and searching the whole thing for the queen and she was nowhere to be found. Without the queen’s perfume, won’t the other ants become fertile? And that brings up another problem, who would fertilize them? Are there emergency male eggs in every nest? “
Answer: Yes, Ants Have Queens
Video Embed
But there’s a little more to it than that. There are several species of ants and they all have their own unique colony structure and biology. Some species of ants have one queen per colony, others have multiple queens in the same colony.
When a group of worker ants (all of whom are sterile females) are removed from the colony, they will all eventually die because they are not capable of producing offspring. If a group of worker ants and some brood (larvae) are separated, or if the queen is removed from the colony, the worker ants will then attempt to raise a new queen (reproductively capable female) from the existing brood.
When this happens, the new queen ant will be unmated and therefore will only produce male ants. These males can then fertilize the queen and she will be able to produce female worker ants. A bit incestuous, but it keeps the colony going.
Question: Do Ants Select a Queen?
If I have enough ants in captivity without a queen will they select one? Ok, so say I dug up a huge ant nest, and the queen is killed in the process. I tried digging one up and searching the whole thing for the queen and she was nowhere to be found. Without the queen’s perfume won’t the other ants become fertile? And that brings up another problem, who would fertilize them? Are there emergency male eggs in every nest?
Answer: Yes, Depending on the Colony Ants Select a Queen
There are several species of ants and they all have their own unique colony structure and biology. Some species of ants have one queen per colony, others have multiple queens in the same colony. When a group of worker ants (all sterile females) are removed from the colony, they will all eventually die because they are not capable of producing offspring. If a group of worker ants and some brood (larvae) are separated, or if the queen is removed from the colony, the worker ants will then attempt to raise a new queen (reproductively capable female) from the existing brood. When this happens, the new queen ant will be unmated and therefore will only produce male ants. These males can then fertilize the queen and she will be able to produce female worker ants. A bit incestuous, but it keeps the colony going.
Dealing with Ants
For homeowners, ants can be an especially frustrating pest with which to deal.
The best approach to dealing with ants in your home is a proactive one. Keeping your home and yard tidy goes a long way toward discouraging ants from marching in. But even the cleanest home and tidiest yard isn’t a silver bullet for ant control. Sometimes, you’ll need to respond to the problem directly.
Ants are small and can find ways to bypass your treatments rather easily. When treating with a repellent insecticide, they can detect it and then find ways around it. There are other types of insecticides, such as non-repellent sprays and baits, that work well on certain types of ants. Again, it helps to know the species because they have different behaviors, habitats, and food preferences that need to be taken into account. Some mechanical methods for reducing ants around the structure are:
• Make sure bushes and tree limbs are cut back and not touching the structure.
• Make sure gutters are not clogged.
• Correct any moisture problems such as poor drainage or standing water.
• Do not use excessive amounts of mulch or pine straw.
• Eliminate clutter from around the foundation.
However, given their minuscule size and notorious resilience, it can be difficult (if not impossible) to root them out with the solutions typically available to consumers.
Even more concerning, these ‘over-the-counter’ sprays and baits may actually make your ant situation worse in the process, as they tend to cause colonies to scatter and re-establish themselves elsewhere. And, as we’ve discussed today, even if you’re able to take out the queen, there are plenty of ways that the worker ants can bounce back.
If a home is sufficiently infested with ants, an exterminator may be your only recourse. That’s where Terminix comes in. Reach out today to punch your ticket on the express train to ant-free living.
Not sure if there’s a problem or not? Request a free inspection from your local Terminix branch and sleep easier knowing professionally backed peace of mind is on the way.