What is the purpose of nest building by insects?
Most insects live alone. However, some species live in social groups called colonies or nests. Bees, termites and wasps are all examples of insects that create nests and live together in colonies. An insect nest, in most cases, is a dwelling that houses millions upon millions of insects at different stages of their life cycle. There are many forms of these dwellings, from elaborate six-sided structures made of cellulose-based cellulose to vast underground networks. Owners of commercial and residential properties will often need stump grinding and stump extraction services because insect nests are often found in tree stumps.
A nest is a permanent dwelling for the insects in the colony. These benefits include:
- Nests are communal nurseries that provide care for eggs and larvae until they reach adulthood. Insect workers must constantly forage for food to feed the young nestlings.
- The colony’s physical structure provides protection from weather extremes and other physical threats. When threatened, ants, termites and other social insects, such as termites, will flee to their nests. There are many threats to the insects, including dusting and insecticidal sprays.
- The nest is also a place for insects to store food for later consumption, when foraging is not possible. The nest allows the colony to survive the winter months and the arrival of spring without any danger. These food reserves are what enable insect pest colonies to resist chemical control efforts.
Nests can offer many benefits to insects living in a colony but it is difficult to eliminate pests completely from your home. In order to control pests , homeowners must include stump grinding and stump removal.
How Insect Nests Counter Insect Pest Control
Common nest-building insects pests such as the Carpenter Ant, Argentine Ant, Southern Fire Wasps and Hardwood Stumpborer Beetle are often able evade standard pest management initiatives. This is due to the many ways that nests help ensure the survival of an insect colony. Among the many ways that insect nests can counter pest control are:
1. Standing Army of Nannies
An insect nest houses an army of adult nurses who are responsible for caring for the eggs and queens that lay them.
These nannies have limited duties and are responsible for the nest chambers that house the queen and hatchery of most eusocial pest species. Other worker classes, such as soldiers, foragers and scouts rarely have access to the queen and nursery chambers.
Because they are kept in their colonies, ant and termite nanny classes are safe from conventional pest control methods. This allows these insect colonies to quickly recover from a round of fumigation and spraying or dusting with conventional insecticides. It doesn’t matter if you use systemic or contact pesticides in your insect control efforts. The result is the same. Affordable Tree Services provides professional stump grinding as well as removal services to eliminate all insect nests from commercial and residential properties.
2. Egg-Laying Queens with exceptional fertility and long-life
Some eusocial pest insects’ queens are well-known for their amazing egg-laying abilities. For example, a termite queen can lay up to 30,000 eggs in one day.
Moreover, queens in some pest species such as the Argentine and Carpenter ant nests can lay up to 120,000 eggs over a period of 25-36 days.
Termite, Southern Fire Ant and Carpenter Ant nests can repopulate in a matter of weeks due to their high reproductive rates. To eliminate these pests, it is highly recommended that termite and other ant nests be destroyed. You can eliminate insect nests by stump grinding and removal.
3. Insect Nests have plenty of food reserves
Wasps are predatory and typically protect the paralyzed bodies bees and spiders within cells that contain growing larvae or unhatched eggs. Thus, the larvae have sufficient food for up to 14 days.
This allows wasp larvae to survive even after all adult wasps have died in a colony. To eliminate wasp nests on their property, homeowners can use stump grinding or removal tree service.
Southern Fire Ants or Argentine Ants store their food in underground nests. These nests are often found near tree stumps. Carpenter Ants store their food in nests that have been excavated from timber columns, floor beams, floor joists, or other wooden elements of a house. This species of ant also builds nests in old tree stumps.
Ant pests can store any variety of protein- and carbohydrate-rich matter they find while foraging in houses. These foods include flour, bread and raw dough, cereal grains, cakes, chocolate, meats and powdered milk. Common ants also have a large food supply. They can also obtain edible matter from the outdoors such as roots, honeydew and seeds. Because of their stored food, ants in a nest are able to withstand insecticide spraying, fumigation and dusting as long the dwelling is intact.
Non-social pests, such as the Hardwood Stump Borer Beetles, don’t need to keep food in order to survive extermination. Hardwood Stump Borer Beetles, for example, feed on the wood they use to build their nests. Hardwood Stump Borer larvae burrow into wood structures like tree stumps, wooden decks and wooden fence posts. The grubs feed on the wood and emerge as adults 3-4 years later. Tree borer beetle larvae can live in thick tree stumps, but they are protected from insecticidal spraying because they cannot penetrate the wood.
Affordable Tree Services offers professional stump grinding and tree removal services in Weston, Florida.
Negative Effects of Insects Pests on Your Property
When they are present on commercial or residential properties, insect pests can cause many adverse effects. The extent of damage caused by insect pests will depend on the number of different species that live on the property. Some of the negative effects homeowners might encounter are:
1. Physical damage to structures, trees, gardens, and lawns
The uncanny ability of termites to cause severe property damage is what makes them so infamous. Termites cause property damage worth over $5 billion in the US each year. To make matters worse basic homeowner policies don’t cover damage or loss to personal property that is caused by termite infestations. Insurance companies don’t view termite infestations in their entirety as a sudden phenomenon.
When termites attack support beams, floor and ceiling joists as well as floor joists and ceiling joists, they can cause serious damage to your home’s structural integrity.
Termites can also consume a variety of wood derivatives such as plywood, chipboard and fibreboard, hardboard, blockboard and paper. The termite can also destroy wood-containing items such as doors, shelves and partition walls, chair frames, window frames, and other wooden materials. Homeowners have two options to protect their properties against termite damage: stump grinding or stump extraction.
Termites can cause extensive property damage and stunt the growth of young trees by attacking the bark of certain tree species like Oak, Ash, Fir, and Canary Island Date Palm. Subterranean termites are known to attack many palm species including the Alexander Palm, Coconut Palm and Canary Island Date Palm as well as Foxtail Palm and Fishtail Palm. Termites can also attack tree stumps and logs in yards, regardless of the tree species they are associated with. To eliminate termites completely from your property, you need stump grinding and stump removal tree service.
Old stumps from trees can attract termites to your yard, which can then establish a fledgling colony within a matter of weeks.
Carpenter Ants and Hardwood Stump Borer Beetles are not as well-known as termites but can cause significant damage to your property’s structures and other items. These two species are able to hide under infested wood items, making it difficult for the untrained eye to detect them.
One of the Carpenter Ants can find large nests in support beams, floorboards, doors and other furniture pieces, almost undetected.
Hardwood Stump Borer Beetle larvae burrow into the stems and wood of living trees to feed on the wood while they grow into adult beetles. The severity of crown death in ornamental and citrus trees will vary depending on their size. stump grinding and removal of stumps are two ways to eradicate Hardwood Stump Borer larvae.
2. Insect pests spread disease
Insect pest species such as the Argentine Ant and the Southern Fire Ant can spread pathogens and toxic spores to food and other surfaces within a home. There are two reasons why this happens. The first is that ants can pick up pathogens from the ground, including protozoan, viral, or bacterial pathogens. Insect nests can be breeding grounds for pathogens. This is especially true for the food storage areas. Many fungi and bacteria types can be found in food stored, which leads to the decomposition of these foods. Some of these diseases can lead to mild or severe illness in humans.
These ant pests can also spread fungal or bacterial diseases within a tree yard. Plant diseases can also be transmitted between plants in a garden or among shrubs in flower beds and hedges. These ant pests can also help to relocate harmful sap-sucking insect, such as scales, from wilting plant onto healthier ones.
3. Insect Pests Sting and Bite
Ants pests such as the Southern Fire Ant and Argentine Ant inflict painful bites upon people who disturb their foraging activities. The amount of formic Acid that an ant injects into a bite wound will determine the intensity of the pain.
Although ant bites can be painful, wasp stings can be extremely painful. Female wasps can sting repeatedly, which can cause severe allergic reactions.
How to correctly identify Insect Pests & Their Nests
Notable is the fact that many insect species are very similar to pest species found in Florida. Many homeowners waste time and money trying to eradicate harmless insects from their homes and businesses. This is a very undesirable outcome as the vast majority of insects play an integral part in their habitats.
It is therefore advisable for homeowners to learn how to correctly identify and remove insect pest nests. A homeowner must also be able to identify nests created by unwanted pests. Here are some brief descriptions of the common pests and their nests.
1. Argentine Ant
Identifying Argentine Ants
The scientific name of the Argentine Ant is Linpithema humile. This ant species’ workers are the same in size, with a uniform brown color on the head, abdomen, and thorax.
In its unique profile, the Argentine Ant’s thorax is distinctive from other insects. The thorax does not curve towards the abdomen when viewed from the side.
Identifying Argentine Ant Nests
Argentine Ant nests can be found outdoors in shallow underground chambers that connect and are approximately 1 to 2 inches below the ground. These nests can be found under wood slabs, decking and tree cavities. These nests can be identified by the piles of dead and dying ants at the perimeter of the entry points to the dwelling.
2. Carpenter Ant
How to identify Carpenter Ants
Carpenter Ants are the largest ants in America, measuring in at 1/4 to 1/2 inch. These ants are black and have a bulge at their waists. They also have dark red legs.
How to identify Carpenter Ant Nests
A Carpenter Ant Colony is difficult to spot because they burrow into wood and leave no visible traces. Fine sawdust can be seen when you inspect infested items. Tapping on infested items produces a hollow sound.
3. Southern Fire Ant
Identification of Southern Fire Ants
Southern Fire Ants or Solenopsis have a red head, a thorax and a red/black stomach. The head is devoid of the long bristly hairs found on the abdomen and thorax.
You should also be able spot a short spike just before the two nodes, which make up the ant’s thin waist.
How to identify Southern Fire Ant Nests
Southern Fire Ant nests can be found in the trunks of trees. They are easily identified by the soil mound at their entrance.
4. Termites
Identifying termites
Termites can be identified easily because they are the only insect species that build long, often branching mud tubes. These earthen tunnels are home to termites, which have large orange heads and a pale body. The thorax, which is almost indistinguishable to the abdomen, appears to be absent. This insect species has a reproductive male and female class that is significantly larger than its worker class. Each gender has two pairs of wings of equal size.
Identifying Termite Nests
The best indicator of termite nests is a vertical mud tube rising from the ground.
5. Wasps
How to identify wasps
Many wasp species have dark brown to black bodies with distinctive yellow markings. All wasps have a narrow waistline between the abdomen and thorax.
How to identify Wasp Nests
Wasp nests consist of papery structures with vertical hexagonal chambers and an opening at their bottom. These nests are usually found under tree branches, but they can also hang from buildings’ eaves.
6. Hardwood Stump Borer Beetle
Identifying the Hardwood Stump Borer Beetle
The Hardwood Stump Borer Beetles’ first pair of wings are, as with all beetles. They harden to form a thicker carapace which conceals a pair transparent wings.
These borer beetles are distinguished by small spikes at the edges of their thorax.
Identifying Hardwood Stump Borer Beetle Nests
These beetle species don’t build nests. Borer Beetle larvae can be found in tree stumps and trunks by a D-shaped hole.
Stump Grinding and Removing as Effective Insect Pest Control Technique
Stump grinding is an additional method to control insect pests.
- Remove existing insect nests from tree stumps in residential and commercial properties
- Exposure to and destruction of nests under tree stumps in a yard
- Eliminating potential pest attractors to a property
- Eliminating potential pest-control behaviors
Affordable Tree Services offers stump grinding and removal services. This can be combined with other pest control methods to create a complete pest management strategy.
FAQ
What happens to roots when stumps are ground?
No further grinding is required once a stump has been ground to a surface level. The remaining roots are chemically drenched to ensure that they do not attract pest infestations, such as termites.
What can I do to clean up stump grinding?
Affordable Tree Services will take care of the stump grinding. Our expert team will clean up your yard as a part of a complete service package.
How do you make stumps easy to remove?
Affordable Tree Service staff spray stumps with unique fungal and bacterial cultures to accelerate the process of wood rotting.
What’s the difference between stump grinding and stump removal?
Stump removal is the act of removing a stump from the ground. Stump grinding is the use of a motorized grinder tool to reduce a stump to the ground.
Where are carpenter ants found?
Carpenter Ants live within excavated nests in wooden structures and furnishings like support pillars and doors, chairs and wood decks.
How can I get rid of Carpenter Ants in Trees?
Carpenter Ants can be eliminated from trees by spraying their trunks and branches with an insecticide that is appropriate for the situation.
How can I get rid of a nest of wasps in a tree stump?
Spraying the stump with an insecticidal aerosol is one way to get rid of wasp nests. After this, you can remove the nest from the tree stump.
This post was written by a professional arborist at Arbor Wise Professional Tree Care. Robert Miller is the owner of Arbor Wise Professional Tree Care, a locally owned and operated tree service company that offers superb lawn care by the most experienced Arborists. Arborwise Tree Services is a tree removal company that offers stump removal, tree pruning, stump grinding, fertilization, and tree restoration. We have an extraordinary lawn care industry notoriety covering the Pinellas county area.