Pharaoh Ants, the King of Bites

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Pharaoh ants are infamous indoor pests, colonizing through a process called budding. Budding allows for the insects to spread infestations rapidly and into nearly any area. With pincer-like jaws, Pharaoh ants will bite leaving a painful welt that can last for hours, similar to a flea bite. While Pharaoh ant bites are not poisonous, they can cause pain, transmit diseases and contaminating sterile materials, especially in health care environments. The pharaoh ant carries and may transmit many diseases, such as salmonella, staphylococcus, and clostridium, which may cause botulism.  Pharaoh ants have become a serious pest in hospitals, rest homes, condominiums, apartment dwellings, office buildings, motels and hotels, grocery stores, factories, commercial bakeries, food establishments and other buildings. They can also contaminate equipment, materials, food and even wounds in flesh. Nests may be built in walls, between studs, or in insulation, causing limited structural damage. Residents may have difficulty eliminating the ants without the aid of a pest control professional. The process of controlling a pharaoh ant infestation may take several months and up to a year, due to the heavy network of nests.

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http://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-pharaoh-ants-the-king-of-bites-1.6735487