Crazy Ants: The Bugs That Eat Electricity
Ants shorting out your AC? It's likely Tawny Crazy Ants. Learn why they are attracted to electricity and why regular baits don't work on them.
In Texas and Florida, there is a new ant in town. They don't march in a straight line like normal ants. They run around erratically like they are hyped up on caffeine.
They are called Tawny Crazy Ants (or Rasberry Crazy Ants).
They Kill Electronics
Here is the weirdest part: They are attracted to electrical fields.
They swarm inside air conditioning units, circuit breakers, and pool pumps. When one touches a live wire, it gets electrocuted and releases a "danger pheromone." This signals the other ants to attack.
Result? Thousands of ants pile up inside your AC contactor, shorting it out and causing thousands of dollars in damage.
Why Regular Poison Fails
These colonies are massive. We are talking millions of ants.
If you use a standard ant bait from Home Depot, you might kill 10,000 of them. That is nothing. The colony reproduces faster than you can kill them.
The Solution: Non-Repellents
To stop Crazy Ants, you need a heavy-duty approach. We use non-repellent sprays (like Fipronil) around the entire perimeter. The ants walk through it, don't realize they are poisoned, and spread it to the millions of others. It takes weeks, but it's the only way.