Ants help, and ants hurt. In modern society, ants are perceived as a representation of filth, but in reality, they serve a wide variety of purposes in their ecosystems. Here at Canton Termite and Pest Control, we strive to provide you as the reader with valuable knowledge that you can use to benefit your family, home, and the surrounding environment. Let’s start with explaining more of the benefits of ants.
Ants provide a valuable source of protection for plants from herbivores and insects that tend to destroy and eat plants and seeds. They safeguard the stems, leaves, and seeds of the plants while taking the nectar that they are attracted to in the plant to their colony. This protection allows plants to flourish, despite the best efforts of many destructive garden pests. Ants also protect many different caterpillars, since the caterpillars produce a sweet substance called honeydew that ants quite enjoy. This allows many more caterpillars to develop into butterflies, making your backyard much more pleasant; however, some ants are not quite so helpful, including the dreaded red fire ant.
Red fire ants are imported, and as such, have fewer natural predators here in the North America region. These ants actually damage crops instead of help protect them, as well as get into machinery and damage electrical circuits by stripping the insulation. This potentially causes fires as well as expensive repairs. Fire ants also have a painful sting, and this can cause some people to have a life-threatening allergic reaction. Carpenter ants will tunnel into the wood supporting many structures, but they do not cause as much damage as termites do. Sugar ants will tend to be the small ants that you find making trails to your cupboards for food, but all ants enjoy the sweet tastes of granulated sugar, spilled sweet drinks, and other such food items. If you have an issue with ants, call Canton Termite and Pest Control today at 770-479-1598!
By: Tim
