Well, they are invasive, but how bad for biodiversity are they? Argentine ants seem to be taking over in areas of California with super-sized colonies. They’ve become quite a nuisance in this neighborhood. I wondered how “bad” are they for the ecosystem and biodiversity?

There’s a lot of research being done by folks in the UC system on these. Some general info here: https://cisr.ucr.edu/invasive-species/argentine-ant There’s some research showing long term impacts, especially on native ant communities (I only read the abstract here): https://esajournals.onlinelib…

Thanks! That was very helpful and just what I needed to know. We have been keeping them at bay (half successfully) with powders like cinnamon, baking powder, and baby powder and caulking known entry points. But, with the summer heat, it is an endless struggle. They appear daily with no identifiable…

No idea! I haven’t battled them personally. I’ve used cinnamon before against various ants. You could check out diatomaceous earth which when crawling insects encounter dry will get in their joints and cause them to die from dehydration. Maybe others will have some better ideas!

Thanks, I’ve not used diatomaceous earth. Normally, I use cinnamon/baby powder/baking soda, which blocks their spiracles so they cannot breath. It’s non-toxic, but messy. But, I don’t want to have those powder messes around when we are getting ready to show the home to buyers.

Yes, diatomaceous earth would have the same visual effect (looks like flour). Just washing with dishsoap can disrupt chemical trails of ants, so that could be a very short term fix (some hours) so might work immediately before an open house, etc.

Are Argentine ants harmfully invasive?

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Are Argentine ants harmfully invasive?

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