Five main types of pest ants in the Perth area.

There are five main types of invasive ants in the Perth metro area.

Pheidole megacephala          Coastal brown/big headed ants  

Technomyrmex                      White footed ants

Linepethina                            Argentine ants  

Iridomyrmex spp (various)     Odorous ants  

Ochotellus                             Black house ants 

Firstly you must identify which Genus and possibly species of ant you have.

Identify the type of ant by its looks, food preferences, behaviours, nesting and what potential problems it is causing.

You can use DNA testing but that is expensive and in most cases they can be id'd by looking with an eyeglass or microscope. Close up examination using keys to identify needs some skills and correct information. 

Easiest identification is by observing behaviours etc (above):

*Food preferences: some ants like only sweet foods, some prefer oily foods such as vegetable oil, peanut butter or animal fats.

*Trailing behaviour. Some ants make obvious trails and walk quickly while others meander and seem less orderly.

*Sting or bite? Some ants will do one or the other, others can do both.

*Habitat/nesting type. White footed ants, for instance, will live inside buildings whereas most other ants prefer to live outdoors, only coming in if there is easy access to preferred foods.

*Smell when squashed. Some ants smell more or less strongly of formic acid when squashed and some ants don't smell at all.

*Do they dominate other ants and displace them? 

As with any pest problem always use PHYSICAL or CULTURAL CONTROL first, then least toxic solutions and highly targeted baiting.
This includes removing food sources, keeping benches clean where ants are indoors and finding gaps and sealing them to prevent incursion of the tiny insects.

Big headed ants/coastal brown 
Pheidole megacephala  

These ants are very common around Fremantle. Easily identified by looking to see whether about 10% have large heads compared to the rest of the population of ants present. They have no smell or sting but they can cause a not-very-painful bite. They tunnel under pavers, leaving piles of sand everywhere.

They move into pots and damage plants by eating the root hairs which are high in proteins and sugars. They will also farm aphids and scale for honeydew.They will swarm at foods.

Borax bait using a plain peanut butter and vegetable oil base can be used. A highly succesful target specific product called Amdro works really well.

White footed ants
Technomyrmex      

Smell when crushed and form trails. They don’t sting.

They will live inside buildings  and can appear suddenly in large numbers and then be gone again just as quick.

They will live on sites with other ants species and don't dominate.

These can be difficult to control, needing special baiting repeated frequently as they do not pass poisons to the higher orders but keep it to themselves and make clean sterile eggs for the queen. This means only soldiers die with baiting and thus it needs repetition until the nest is depleted.

Argentine ants
Linepethina humile

Argentine ants are about 2-3 mm long and smell slightly of formic acid when crushed. They have no sting and tend to create regular trails, which they move along slow or fast. They usually live outside and can form super colonies which displace other ants species.

These ants eat sugars and proteins, however sugary secretions called honeydew from scale on plants are a favourite, thus the ants will sometimes 'farm' scale insects.

These ants have multiple queens in each nest and new colonies are created when a queen and some workers move to a new area. Their nests are not always easy to identify for baiting. Least toxic control is by winter trapping of queens. Garden hygiene, removing piles of leaves, sticks etc, can provide less habitable spots for them. Other wise persistence is needed to control this hard to exterminate pest species.

Odorous ants
Iridomyrmex spp

This Genus of ants often move in after coastal browns are removed. They have a strong smell when crushed and no sting. They run riot when disturbed, running all over the creature disturbing their nest. These ants live outside in big colonies and will displace other species.

They prefer animal fats and sugar. Control is by use of targeted baits and DIY options -  2% borax  dissolved in 25% honey or sugar + 73% H2O. Place baits where there are large numbers of ants during their frenzy. 
Ant rid and other target specific ant baits are available in some hardware or pet stores.

Black house ant

Ochotellus spp
Sometimes outside but mostly inside, the black house ants only have a slight smell and are timid, they are easily discouraged by wiping surfaces with eucalyptus oil. They have no sting.

These ants prefer sugar,  and can be controlled using Ant-rid.

If you still don't know what sort of ant you have you could use this service:

Identification service - Department of Agriculture and Food
Correct identification of the pest ant is crucial before commencing any control procedures. There are pest ants that can be more easily controlled based on advice appropriate to that species. A free identification and advisory service is provided by the Department of Agriculture and Food. To submit specimens for identification, stick about a dozen ants to a piece of paper with clear tape and enter your contact details on the paper. Ensure the ants are collected from a clean surface. This will prevent picking up sand and other debris which can allow the ants to escape from under the sticky tape, or spray the ants first with fly spray.

Specimen identification requirements
When sending or delivering samples, the following information is required:
• Collector’s name, location (where the specimen was found), full address, telephone number and e-mail address, description of the damage and date collected.
Department of Agriculture and Food
Pest and Disease Information Service
3 Baron Hay Court, South Perth WA 6151 Freecall: 1800 084 881
Email: info@agric.wa.gov.au

Once you know what you have but still don't know how to control the pest at hand contact Systems Pest Management, Fremantle for advice on the least toxic way to control your pest ants.

May 5th 2014 was International Permaculture Day, and one of the talks was given by my old friend David Piggott from Systems Pest Management. He promotes non toxic solutions for termites and ants and willingly shared the information that I used to start these notes.

Some other resources ..

archive.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_assets/.../gn_argentine_ants.pdf
http://argentineants.landcareresearch.co.nz/identification.asp 
msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2407.pdf 

Molluscs..slimy slugs and snails.

At this time of year the garden starts to get seriously munched by snails. They take one night to destroy many hours worth of seedling growing and planting. My preferred method of ridding the garden of these greedy destroyers is by simply collecting them. Around dawn or dusk is when they are most likely to be out and about. I go out there with a container of soapy water and just drop them in it. The detergent breaks the surface tension and they can't get back out.
It may seem daunting but I have seriously knocked back the number of slimy beasts in my vegies in 2 years. There are more slugs this year because less were collected last year but I keep a spoon with the soapy water so now they are easy to get too.

I have become a little obsessive with it at times but it is kind of a satisfying feeling to know your vegetable growing efforts have a better chance of succeeding.
Oh, yeah, and the snails and their icky water can just go in the compost pile or a hole in the ground.

Happy hunting.

War on the pests in my garden and kitchen.

I've had enough of sharing my kitchen with yucky creatures..cockroaches, ants and even the odd mouse.
Two mice have been caught recently, quite a few cockroaches have been committing suicide into the dishwater overnight in the kitchen sink tubs, but the rats have been doing the tango in the roof and the coastal brown ants are constantly roaming about.
Last night we put some rat poison in the roof. The only type I ever use is Racumin which doesn't cause secondary death if the dying rat is consumed by another creature. Once their at numbers are reduced I will actually be able to grow a bit of food. With summer in full swing and rats eating anything tasty I am at the point where I am really totally unispired by doing anything to the garden.
Even getting some lettuce and leafy herbs going would be great. Anything. The parsley and rocket even seems to have been hammered this season so there are very little edibles apart from the good old tough Mediterranean herbs.
The late rain and cooler temperatures have allowed a lot more insect activity and more successful breeding of pest populations.
I have had a lot of white fly this year, which I've not seen before, and lots of green leaf hoppers. So most leafy greens have been speckled by the piercing mouthparts of those little pests.
I found a couple of long window box shaped pots the other day. I like to grow lettuce in them as they are narrow and can easily be replanted without disturbing nearby plants too much.
Hopefully soon I will get some greens from the garden. February is a very hot month usually so there may not be much going on until after then. The fig tree and the grapes are coming along well, so we should get plenty off of those, especially if we control the filthy rats.