Alien Invasion: Rasberry Crazy Ants on the Move

 

 

Travis County residents have recently been subject to an invasion, but not from a person or group of people.  The Rasberry Crazy Ant has been committing the intrusions causing many residents problems.

 

In late December, residents in the Briarcliff area were surprised to find a new kind of ant that has been sighted in the Houston area in early fall.  They noticed the ant wouldn’t bite them but they were surprised to see swarms of them in their yards.

 

“My kids were playing in the backyard when I heard one of them scream,” said John Parker Herrmann, resident of Briarcliff.  “I ran outside to see my son had fallen on a swarm of ants but he said it tickled.  We took him to the doctor and the doctor said there were no bites on him and that really surprised us.”

 

The Rasberry Crazy Ant has been spotted by many other residents in Briarcliff and they have all noticed the ant doesn’t bite, but they also notice they are always in swarms.  This led to the Herrmann family calling an exterminator to get a better understanding of the situation.

 

“We called the exterminator so we could assure they weren’t going to be a problem.  What he told us really surprised us.  He told us the ants don’t bite but the problem with them is when they die they release a scent that attract others of their kind and that is why they travel in swarms,” said Herrmann.

 

The Rasberry Crazy Ant, first identified by exterminator and Tom Rasberry is 2002,  is thought to originate from the Caribbean Crazy Ant.  It is also thought the ant boarded a cargo ship from the tropics to Texas in the Galveston area, which is ultimately believed to cause the problem in Houston.

 

 

The ant does come with its benefits however.  The ant competes with the fire ant for food and living conditions considering both of their choice of living is under rocks, logs and by tees.  With the Rasberry Crazy Ant being smaller they still pose a threat to the fire ant population.   This benefit doesn’t trump the damages the ants have been causing residents.

 

In cases in Houston, there have been reports on these ants getting into electrical units and causing shortages.  Once the shortages happen the pheromone attracts many others to the area causing a swarm.  These swarms, unlike fire ants, will go into a house in search of food, mainly sweet food.

 

“These ants are causing big problems for homeowners who encounter them,” said Bryan Aguirre, Terminix exterminator.  “The main problem from it is if you don’t find where they are originating, then they will continuously reproduce.  The queen ant is the only one that can reproduce but when they are killed the pheromone only attracts more to the area.”

 

The colonies of ants consist of multiple queens causing exterminations to be practically useless.  After the Rasberry Crazy Ant has become a swarm, it is virtually impossible to exterminate a colony.

 

According to Aguirre it has been suggested homeowners who encounter the Rasberry crazy ant call the Texas A&M Agrilife Office.  They have been tracking the Rasberry crazy ant as they have hit not only Travis County, but also the Houston, San Antonio, and South Texas area.

 

“We ourselves have been told by our supervisors that researchers at Texas A&M are attempting to track where these ants are going and where they have been,” said Aguirre.  “I know for myself, I have come in contact with two families having these invasions and have instead suggested for them to call those researchers because it isn’t fair for them to pay for extermination when they would probably be calling me back in a matter of weeks or even days.”

 

This has homeowners worried based on the information they received from exterminators and the A&M researchers.

“We really haven’t gotten much direction with what to do.  We are told to keep an eye out for them more than anything,” said Herrmann.  “I mean its really not a huge problem for us because we don’t eat many sweets or have a pet but it would be good to know how to put a handle on this.”