Invasion of the hairy, crazy ants

Invasion of the hairy, crazy ants

Invasion of the hairy, crazy ants, As if people didn’t have enough ant problems in New Orleans, scientists warn a different species is invading.Audubon Insectarium’s Zack Lemann says Hairy Crazy Ants, also called Raspberry or Caribbean Crazy Ants, are invading from Texas, Mississippi and cargo ships: “These crazy ants we're dealing with now are really nothing more than a nuisance. They can get into buildings. They can get into cars. They can have multiple queens and multiple nest sites. And they don't respond to traditional pest control methods.”
Lemann says persistent hairy crazy ant colonies are enormous and known to eat away electronic circuitry: “These ants seem to be attracted to various machines that have circuitry or just circuitry in general.” hairy ants,

The primary concern for scientists is the unknown potential impact to the ecosystem. “They can outcompete something that we would prefer to have here that's native to the area. The only good news is hairy crazy ants don’t pack much of a bite,” Lemann says. "They don't bite or sting us. They can't sting at all and their mandibles are too small to bite us. They have jaws."

Scientists tested various insecticides but because colonies are too large and persistent there’s no “sure-fire” way yet to get rid of hairy crazy ants.

Source: abc26