Surprising Facts About Ants

Even though the ant is one of the smallest pests that you could have in your arm, it’s one of the most powerful compared to its body weight and size. Ants can often lift at least 10 times their body weight, some larger ants lifting as much as 50 times their body weight. To keep other ants and pests from invading the homes that they have created, soldier ants will plug the entrance holes with their heads. The front of the head will face outward as a warning to other pests that they need to leave. Worker ants will touch the head of the soldier ant when they return to the nest as a signal that they live there as well. 

Some ants will defend plants against other insects so that they can get the food and nutrients from that plant all the time. This is a benefit for both the ant and the plant as the plant won’t be bombarded with other pests, and the ants have somewhere to always go to find food and water. They also use the plant to hide or keep shelter. If you think that there are hundreds of ants in your yard at a time, then you could be right. If you add all of the ants in the world, the numbers could be comparable to the number of people who are on earth or more. There are over 12,000 different species of ants in the world. Many ants live in environments that are warm and humid, such as the Amazon rainforest. 

Sometimes, the line of ants that you see in your home or outside could be herding other insects. The pest will often treat other insects as their subordinates, ushering them to locations where they want them to go so that they can raise babies that don’t want to be raised by their parent or so that they have safety in numbers from larger pests. If you don’t want ants in your home or even in large numbers outside, Action Pest and Turf can use professional supplies to remove them in a safe manner for your family. We provide a number of commercial and residential pest services, so please contact us today!