Caribbean Crazy Ant

Over the last few years reports have escalated of a golden-brown to reddish-brown "crazy ant" infesting properties in and around West Palm Beach, Florida. Paratrechina pubens is part of a group of ants referred to as "crazy ants" due to their quick and erratic movements. Thick foraging trails with thousands of ants occur along sidewalks, around buildings, and on trees and shrubs.

In the West Palm Beach area, two heavily infested sites were observed about 3 miles west of the Intracoastal Waterway. These sites are adjacent to a utility right-of-way running to the port of Palm Beach (site of a Florida Power and Light electrical generating plant). The port may have been the point of debarkation of P. pubens into Palm Beach County.

In the last few years, most of the reports of P. pubens infestations have come from pest control operators in and around the southeast Florida "Treasure Coast" from West Palm Beach north to Port St. Lucie, where trails consisting of thousands of ants have been observed along sidewalks, buildings, and gardens, causing property owners to complain. Sprays and granular applications of residual insecticides seemingly have had little or no effect in controlling this non-biting nuisance ant.

Until research is done on management techniques, we recommend the use of contact residual insecticides sprayed along active trails and nest sites to reduce ant populations, followed a few days later by sweet ant baits placed at numerous locations along trails and frequently replaced with fresh bait.

To view this entire article, please visit http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in560

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