Ant Pest Control: How Ants Help the Environment

Ants are some of the busiest insects on the planet. Because they’re so tiny, they go unnoticed until you see crowds of them foraging in your kitchen or you see a substantial anthill in your backyard. Are they dangerous? Not normally. Do they destroy your house? Sometimes. While it may be necessary to call an ant pest control company to get them out of your kitchen, you may want to consider leaving them in your backyard (if they’re not too intrusive). Here’s why:

Your Cleanup Crew

When there are dead things around, it’s great to have someone else do the cleanup. Ants do just that. They help with the decomposing process by feeding on insects, dead animals, and organic waste. Carpenter ants assist with the decomposition of dead or diseased wood. As long as they’re not feeding on your house, they make great tree elves. After the ants are done feeding on the wood, fungi and bacteria grow there and start breaking down the cellulose and lignin.

Your Soil Aerators

When ants dig tunnels, they create air pockets in the soil that allow rainwater, nutrients, and oxygen to circulate. When soil gets packed down from foot traffic or heavy rainfall, plants have a difficult time establishing a good root system. Ants help turn this around by creating looser soil that plants thrive in. By aerating, ants lead the way for earthworms, bacteria, and other organisms to move into the soil. This creates a healthy ecosystem for plants to flourish.

Your Pest Control Assistants

There are a few pests that are peskier than ants. Fortunately, ants are an ally against these foes. Ants eat fleas, flies, bed bugs, silverfish, and even cockroaches. Six species of ants even eat termites! Other species keep termites at bay. Unless ants are creating monstrous anthills in your yard, you don’t need to call ant pest control on them–you can keep them around to help you control the populations of other more troublesome pests.

Your Seed Planters

Some ant species are harvester ants. They’re called this because they have a habit of carrying seeds from one place to another–usually taking them back to their nest. This transplants the seeds into a friendly and safe environment where they can grow. The ant colony then provides rich soil for the seeds. In this way, ants help preserve the plant habitat in the wild.

One thing is for sure–ants belong outside. If they get inside, it can be difficult to get rid of them on your own. That’s when you need to call on your local ant pest control for some help.