Ants are the Prey of Doodle Bugs | Fun Fact Friday

Ever heard a person call a baby doodle bug as they wiggle, crawl, and wriggle around a room?  There is a reason for that!  Doodle bugs, the larval form of ant-lions (or antlions), make a path that looks like a doodle in the sand (or soil) where they crawl while searching for a suitable spot to dig a pit and wait for prey (small insects and arthropods-- usually ants) to fall in.  The path that babies use when they first start moving is similar to that of a doodle bug.  So that some what common nickname (I've heard it more than a few times), is a reference to an actual bug!  The funny path is pretty much the only thing doodle bugs and babies have in common!

Doodle bugs are actually a pretty fierce predator, babies are not.  Doodle bugs are NOT cute, babies are cute. Etc. Etc. I could go on, but you get the point!
I found a blog with an incredible photo succession post for an ant-lion (doodle bug) in action. Click here to see it.  The blog is done by biologist and photographer, Alex Wild.  I was hoping to find a picture I could put in this blog-- these photos are better than what I was hoping to find!

Even Better?  I found a video on youtube by national geographic.  Originally I intended to write a nice post about how the antlion "doodles" in the sand, but after more research and watching these videos-- I found that writing about them as a fierce predator was much more interesting!



The adult antlion looks similar to a dragonfly, and may eat pollen and nectar, but some adult antlions stick to the diet of their youth.

Have a problem with ants?  You could employ the doodle bug!  But a faster, more effective route to getting rid of ants would be calling Peak Pest Management for ant pest control service!

Micah Wood
Peak Pest Management
503-998-4322
360-607-1933
www.Peak-Pest-Management.com
micah@peak-pest-management.com

Carpenter Ant Invasion! Vancouver Washington

It is "Ant Season" in the pest control industry.  It is what it is-- in pest control, specifically in the northwest there are seasons where ant problems are more prevalent.  Spring and summer have ants, bees, wasps, spiders, beetles, etc.  Of course it is not some sort of fixed law of bugs.  Generally speaking though, it's open season for ants in the pest control industry and I have been seeing a rising number of carpenter ants in Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR.  Walking around my neighborhood, I have seen inseminate queen carpenter ants looking for a suitable place to build a colony.  An inseminate queen, is a LARGE female ant that has shed her wings.    Considering that my neighborhood is one with many houses close together and not a whole lot in terms of natural carpenter ant habitat, I foresee a growing carpenter ant problem right in my own backyard (so to speak).

Carpenter Ants are a problem for property owners because they are in the business of destroying the wood of homes and businesses.  Carpenter Ants carve out galleries in which to build their colonies and tunnel systems to food/water sources. 

People often mistake carpenter ants for termites and termites for carpenter ants, although there are many differences, the one similarity is that both destroy wood structures.  With a structurally damaging pest, it is best to treat earlier because the longer they have-- the more damage they cause.

Carpenter Ants play an important role in the "wild" in the breakdown process of dead and decaying trees.  As you can imagine, the "dead" trees in your home are the same to these ants as the ones in the forest.

In the last week, I have squashed searching queens in my backyard, on my front porch, in the entryway of my own house, and on the sidewalk on the way to my neighbors house (your welcome!).  So when I say there is a carpenter ant invasion-- I am not speaking generally as a pest control professional, but personally-- as a home owner as well.