One of the expected sightings in many homes during warm summer months is a small visiting insect. A warming Kentucky climate could open the door to the arrival of a potentially harmful variety of this bug.
University of Kentucky Entomologist Zach Devries said lots of housing has been built right on top of the ants’ environment. So, it’s not unusual to see ants come and go both inside and out. But people like DeVries, who study insects, are keeping an eye on the northward march of fire ants. The trek stopped in a cooler northern Tennessee region.
“If we see milder winters and warmer summers we’re going to keep seeing species like that move further and further north and we’re going to see the species we currently have have longer activity windows, which mean they can be a problem for a longer period of time,” said DeVries.
DeVries noted any effort to rid a house or apartment of ants needs to be based on some knowledge about ant behavior.
“What you don’t want to do is apply the wrong treatment and then fracture a population and have them kind of set up shop in your house when they were kind of actively moving in and out of your house. And so, knowing their behavior, their biology really requires a professional,” said DeVries.
If faced with an ant infestation, DeVries suggests checking with a county extension office or a professional exterminator. He said it’s important to understand the behavior of ants before taking eradication steps.
