Member Column-Dealing with Unwanted Pests

Editor’s note: John Glass of Mutual 9 noticed that the fronds on three palm trees that died on his patio were covered by perfectly aligned scale insects. These insects were being tended by ants, like a little farm. In his research, he discovered why and thought others might find it interesting.

by John Glass

LW contributor

In Southern California, every Argentine ant you see is part of one single massive society called the “Very Large Colony” or California Super-colony. Normal ant colonies fiercely attack outsiders. But Argentine ants in this super-colony greet each other like family. Workers, queens, and everyone else share nests, food and young with zero aggression.

This one super-colony stretches over 560 miles along the coast and contains an estimated 1-10 trillion ants—likely the largest cooperative animal society on Earth by number of individuals.

Nearly every native ant species has been eliminated in SoCal while the invasive Argentine ant thrives, including here in Leisure World.

If you see an ant here, it is almost certainly an Argentine ant.

It all began when the ants first arrived in California around 1900, only a handful came over. All of today’s trillions descend from those few making them basically cousins.

Unlike native ants that usually have just one queen per nest, Argentine ant nests have dozens to hundreds of queens laying eggs side by side.

One small nest can produce thousands of new queens every year, which simply walk a short distance away and start satellite nests—all still part of the same friendly super-colony.

How They Damage Plants

Argentine ants don’t eat plants directly, but they’re notorious garden destroyers because they “farm” aphids, scale insects, and mealybugs.

These tiny sap-sucking pests produce sweet honeydew that the ants crave.

In return, ants protect the pests from predators, move them to better plant parts and spread them to new plants. This causes aphid numbers to explode, leading to curled leaves, stunted growth, yellowing, sooty mold, and sometimes weakened or dead plants.

Best Ways to Contain Them

Because of the huge supercolony, sprays just scatter them—focus on baits that workers carry back to the nest:

• Place liquid borate baits (e.g., Terro) or gels (e.g., Advion) along trails and near entry points, away from children and pets; sweet baits work.

• Seal cracks, caulk gaps, trim plants touching the house.

• Clean up food spills, seal pet food, fix leaks, and control aphids to remove their honeydew food source.

• If baits aren’t cutting it after several weeks, call a pest pro for targeted non-repellent treatments.

Bottom line: Every Argentine ant trailing across your kitchen counter is cooperating with ants in San Diego, Santa Barbara and beyond.

It’s like one giant, borderless ant nation that’s been winning the invasion game for over 120 years.

That’s the real super-colony magic (and why baits work so well—they share everything!). Stay consistent, and you can knock them back significantly.