Ant eggs are an important component of every growing ant colony. An ant colony can’t survive without new workers if it doesn’t generate endless egg batches. Is it feasible to target ants before they mature into larvae, as some have claimed?
In our article, we’ll explain everything you should know about an ant’s life cycle from egg to adult and demonstrate the best way to keep them away! Most importantly, what do ant eggs look like? We will go into detail about this, so you can identify the problem before they can run away!
If you have a serious ant problem, Recon Pest Services is here to help! Servicing the greater Omaha and Lincoln areas, we have the tools and knowledge to handle any common pest. Contact us today for a free quote!
An Ant’s Life Cycle: Transforming from Ant Eggs to Adult Workers
Every ant has to start somewhere! An ant’s life cycle begins when the egg is deposited. Queen ants produce hundreds to thousands of ant eggs per day, rapidly filling their developing colonies.
What Do Ant Eggs Look Like?
Most ant eggs are a translucent milky white color, typically no larger than half a millimeter. Worker ants dedicate their time to protecting the tiny eggs from intruders or other predators. If you see ant eggs, it’s likely that you’ve uncovered the core of the colony and are also looking at a few hundred adult ants as well.
Ant eggs are about the size of a worker ant’s thorax (or as laymen call them, their big bulb-butt). You may see them wriggle a bit, since their incubation period is only about a week before they transform into little baby ant larvae.
Larvae Stage
After hatching, larvae exit ant eggs and begin consuming foraged food. According to the University of California’s Integrated Pest Management Program, a newly mated queen tends to the developing larvae until they grow capable of caring for her and other larvae.
Larvae feast on captured and foraged goods found by worker ants to support their maturing forms. Born without appendages or eyes, larvae depend on other worker ants to aid them in feeding. Tragic.
Emerging as Pupae and Adults
The larvae will continue to grow until they metamorphose into pupae. At this stage, the ants will stop eating and become dormant until they reach adulthood. Depending on the species, some may build protective cocoons while others remain exposed.
The maturation cycle of different ant kinds varies. Some ants only stay a few days in this phase, while others may take weeks to develop.
Pupae typically take on the appearance of their adult forms, though they are much lighter in color. If not concealed by a cocoon, ant pupae look like “transparent” adult ants that gradually get darker as they age, much like the banana that you forgot about in your fruit bowl.
Most adult ants that are still developing turn into workers that take care of the colony, while others become reproductive types. All workers are female ants, but members of the reproductive colony may be male or female.
All reproductive members leave the colony for a late summer vacation to mate. Male and female ants meet in the sky to mate, however this isn’t just a summertime fling. After finding a suitable location, they work together to create an entirely new colony.
Queens ants will find a suitable nesting site and produce the next generation of ants. She will tend to her young until they are able to look after her needs. Her main goal will be to keep laying ant eggs when her initial brood becomes adults.
Removing Ants from Your Property
We all know ants are pesky creatures that we don’t want in our homes. Not only are they unsightly, but they also invade our kitchens for a sugar fix!
When you have ants in your home, you’ll want them gone as soon as you can. Once an ant colony has infiltrated your home, it becomes nearly impossible to get rid of them without professional help!
Will Eliminating Ant Eggs Remove the Colony?
Removing eggs is one way to target many insect populations. Insects like ants mosquitoes and caterpillars are both vulnerable to insecticides such as larvicides.
However, targeting ant eggs in your pest control method isn’t a viable option. Ant eggs are buried deep within the colony near the queen. To reach these hidden stores, you must dig around in the ant-infested mounds and risk receiving several ant bites!
Ant eggs are a vital element of a colony’s life cycle, but destroying the eggs will not seriously impact the nest. If the queen survives, she can quickly repopulate the colony’s missing members.
Workers have a brief lifespan, but queen ants may live for years in the proper conditions. The death of the sole reproductively active member of a colony will cause it to collapse after the workers die.
Effective pest control methods should focus on eliminating every ant in the colony, from the queen to the tiny ant eggs!
Removing Ants and Ant Eggs
If you’re dealing with an ant infestation, don’t just focus on the individual ants. You need to target the entire colony to eradicate them completely. There are plenty of helpful baits, traps, and other pest control solutions available that can help you achieve this goal.
Borax
Borax is a frequent component in several DIY ant pest control procedures. Because borax is poisonous to ants, it can swiftly stop any foraging ants seeking for a quick meal. You may even get rid of other ants in the colony as they return with the toxin.
If you mix sugar, borax, water, and honey together, the ants will be attracted to the sweetness and will come to feast on your mixture.
Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth is one of the safest pest control alternatives for any do-it-yourself pest control project! Borax can help eliminate both indoor and outdoor ant colonies, however it may harm your children or pets if they ingest the mix by mistake.
Because food-grade diatomaceous earth is non-toxic, you won’t have to worry about your child’s safety when using this pest control solution. You can quickly eliminate a few foraging insects if you mix this fine powder with sugar.
Unfortunately, diatomaceous earth may not eliminate the entire colony. When wet, the powder loses its effectiveness, preventing you from combining it with another liquid to form a paste. Additionally, it might only have an effect on ants that come into direct contact with the substance rather than the larger group in your yard or home.
Boiling Water
If you’re looking for a quick shotgun-method to get rid of ants, try using boiling water! Pouring hot, boiling water onto any ant mound will instantly eliminate most of the pests at once.
Be mindful when handling hot liquids as any spills could lead to serious burns. If even one ant colony member survives the scalding flood or if the queen is unharmed, you may continue to have an infestation. Of course, don’t dump boiling water into your walls. Use this method outdoors or in garages only!
Boiling water will also kill nearby grass and create unsightly brown spots on your lawn. Only attempt this method if you know the risks.
Hire a Pest Control Agency
When annoying pests become a concern, contact Recon Pest Services for help! Our residential ant pest control treatments can quickly eliminate growing ant colonies inside or outside your home.
Whether carpenter ants or odorous house ants have crept inside or pavement ants are causing issues in your yard, we can lend a hand. Give us a call today for any of your pest control needs!
