{"id":2036,"date":"2019-04-08T08:14:52","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T08:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/termirepel.com\/blog\/?p=2036"},"modified":"2019-04-08T08:24:47","modified_gmt":"2019-04-08T08:24:47","slug":"leafcutter-ant-menace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.termirepel.com\/blog\/leafcutter-ant-menace\/","title":{"rendered":"Leafcutter ant menace!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

An ant infestation can be annoying for the average\nhomeowner, but there are other ant species which can be devastating to those\nwho are in the agricultural industry or growing a garden. One particular ant\nthat can be a threat to plant life is Leafcutter Ant. Leaf cutter ants get\ntheir name due to their habit of cutting into leaves and carrying pieces of\nleaves around. Leafcutter ants are known to damage residential areas but are\nalso considered an agricultural pest and do a lot of damage to vegetation when they\ninfest areas in heavy numbers. High populations of leaf cutter ants have the\nability to defoliate plants in the span of a day and have lead to annual\ndecreases in plant yield, affecting the agricultural economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leafcutter ants prefer to live in warm areas, and unlike\nother species of ants, leafcutter ants cultivate and feed on fungus within\ntheir nests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While leaf cutter ants are usually a problem in rural and\nagricultural areas they can also travel to urban areas and be a problem for\nhomeowners because of their ability to rapidly defoliate lawns and gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaf cutting ants damage weeds, grasses, fruit trees,\nblackberry bushes and much other fruit, nut, and ornamental plants as well as\nseveral grain and forage crops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaf cutter ants are often regarded as the planets first\nfarmers. What\u2019s surprising about the leaf cutter ant is that they actually\ndon\u2019t eat the leaves they cut down. In fact, they use them to grow a fungus\ngarden which becomes both their food and living space. They keep their fungus garden\nwell maintained with bacteria on their body. Bacteria on the body of a\nleaf-cutter ant keep harmful microbes from damaging the fungus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wherever leaf cutting ants are plentiful, it can be nearly impossible for plantlife to grow and survive because of how efficient they are in tearing down plants, grasses, and other foliage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Britain’s biggest colony of leafcutter ants has self-destructed after chewing through a power cable in its tank<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

By Sophie\nJane Evans \u250222nd<\/sup>\nMay 2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than a\nmillion of the tropical insects – who can carry 20 times their weight in their\njaws – had been living at Butterfly World near St Albans, Hertfordshire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were dominated by a giant queen ant, the size of a small mouse, who was protected by an inner circle of soldier ants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"

Disaster: Britain’s biggest colony of leafcutter ants has self-destructed after chewing through a power cable in its tank. Above, a worker ant at Butterfly World near St Albans, Herfordshire, where the incident happened<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But in recent\nweeks, some of the ants had started nibbling on a power lead in their glass\ncabinet, which was linked to a water tank regulating their temperature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They finally bit through the lead and sent an electric current shooting\nthrough the colony – killing the queen and her soldier guards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the worker ants escaped the shock as they were in\na separate part of the enclosure cutting leaves. But carnage erupted when they\nreturned to find the queen and her inner circle dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without a queen to protect, fighting broke out and the\nleaderless ants started dying in huge numbers as they killed each other or\nstarved to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homeowners Left Vulnerable To Leafcutter Ant Excavations<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

April\n15, 2005<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leafcutter ants can be a huge pain when it comes to\nyour house’s landscape and foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>
\n

Merchant said that though the leafcutter ant has yet to become a widespread problem in the Dallas metroplex area, it has been a problem for homeowners in east, south and central Texas. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“Their large colony sizes,\nimpressive soil excavating power and destructive potential against plants makes\nthem a serious pest,” said Merchant, who is based at the Texas A&M\nUniversity System Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only do leafcutter ants strip\nlandscape foliage of leaves, they create huge underground storage vaults for the\nleaves they gather. They don’t actually eat the leaves, but use them in a form\nof ant agriculture, inoculating the leaves with a fungus. The fungus eats the\nleaves; the ants eat the fungus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though vegetarian ants may sound\ncharming, in the process of excavating, they can cause both sunken areas in\nlawns and create large unsightly mounds. On many occasions, they have\nreportedly tunneled under house slabs and cause them to crack, Merchant said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Control of leafcutter ants used to\nbe fairly straight-forward with a bait product called Volcano, Merchant said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because these ants eat only the fungus they cultivate,\nthey do not respond to most conventional ant baits, such as those labeled for\nfire ants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what can be used efficiently to keep the leafcutter\nants away from your plants?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

C Tech Corporation<\/strong><\/a> offers a range of low toxic and low hazard insect\naversive repellent, which can be successfully used to keep pesky creatures at\nbay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Termirepel™ <\/strong><\/a>can be easily described as insect\naversive repellent, used also against all types of insects and which works on\nthe mechanism of repellency. It means that it does not kill the target insects\nbut only repel them, thus balancing the ecology and helping in maintaining the\ngoal of sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This product can be easily used\nagainst a number of insects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The product available in the form of masterbatch can be incorporated into the base polymer of applications like the wire and cables, pipes, agricultural films, and mulches, irrigation pipes, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lacquer can be applied as a\ntopical application on the fence, wooden objects, furniture, ceilings, frames,\netc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Termirepel<\/strong>TM<\/strong><\/sup><\/a>\u00a0liquid concentrate can be diluted in paints in a pre-determined ratio can be applied on walls and many other end applications to keep the leafcutter ants away from homes, gardens and farms.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Termirepel<\/strong>TM<\/strong><\/sup> insect repellent spray<\/strong><\/a> can be sprayed on infested and susceptible areas to keep them away from the application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Termirepel™<\/strong><\/a> is thermally stable and does not degrade on exposure to heat and\nsunlight. It does not kill or harm the insect but repels them. It does not\nvolatilize and does not degrade the soil. It is RoHS, RoHS2, ISO, EU BPR,\nREACH, APVMA, NEA compliant and FIFRA exempted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact us at  technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com<\/a> to keep the pests away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, visit our websites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

http:\/\/www.ctechcorporation.com\/<\/a>
http:\/\/www.rodrepel.com\/<\/a>
http:\/\/www.termirepel.com\/<\/a>
http:\/\/www.combirepel.com\/<\/a>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow our Facebook pages at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1] https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Combirepel-411710912249274\/<\/a>
2] https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Termirepel-104225413091251\/<\/a>
3] https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Rodrepel-120734974768048\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow us on our Twitter pages at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1] https:\/\/twitter.com\/rodrepel<\/a>
2] https:\/\/twitter.com\/termirepel<\/a>
3] https:\/\/twitter.com\/combirepel<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An ant infestation can be annoying for the average homeowner, but there are other ant species which can be devastating to those who are in the agricultural industry or growing a garden. One particular ant that can be a threat to plant life is Leafcutter Ant. Leaf cutter ants get their name due to their … Continue reading Leafcutter ant menace!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.termirepel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2036"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.termirepel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.termirepel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.termirepel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.termirepel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2036"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.termirepel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2042,"href":"https:\/\/www.termirepel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2036\/revisions\/2042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.termirepel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.termirepel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.termirepel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}