Tiny Pests

Let's take a look at ants. Some ant species are considered as pests. They adapt easily to the environment and thus destroying the entire colony is nearly impossible. Pest management is therefore a matter of controlling the population  instead of getting rid of the whole colony. Most attempts at control are only temporary solutions.

Ants classified as pests include the Pharaoh ants, carpenter ants (black ants), odorous house ants (stink or coconut ants), red imported fire ants and the European fire ants (common fire ants). Their populations are controlled using insecticide baits, either in granules or liquid forms. The bait is gathered by the ants as food and carried back to the nest where the poison is then spread to other colony members. Boric acid and borax are often used as insecticides that are relatively safe for humans.

View the following video.

Test Your Science

1. How does food gathered by an ant endanger the entire colony?

Read about the Little Pests in the Young Scientists Issue 116 Level 1.