The push for more sustainable business practices is everywhere. This includes encouraging companies to reduce plastic packaging and to use eco-friendly options wherever possible to lessen environmental impact. While we all support the move to biodegradable or recyclable packaging, we need to make sure they still meet the requirements for public health.

But what does this have to do with pharaoh ants? These pests are so small that they go unnoticed and get into small spaces—like little gaps in packaging. Read on to find out about the problems caused by pharaoh ants, why it’s so difficult to eradicate them, and how i2L Research can help.

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What are pharaoh ants and why are they an issue?

Pharaoh ants are yellow or almost transparent ants, with a bothersome reputation as a major indoor pest. They are a tropical species that have been introduced to most of the world, thriving in warm buildings almost anywhere. While they do not spread disease or cause damage themselves—they possess stingers but do not sting humans—they are a nuisance.

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At only 2mm in size, pharaoh ants are one of the smallest indoor ant pests in the world. It’s easy for them to exploit weaknesses in packaging and enter through small gaps and malformations. They also have varied diets and will target a lot of different types of food. When they get into packaging, they cause food to spoil faster. Eating contaminated or spoiled food could lead to food poisoning, with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Pharaoh ants are also tiny enough to infiltrate electrical components. They are well-known for hospital infestations, where a small population is enough to travel through ventilation and clog up, damage, and destroy expensive equipment. Their detritus decays the wiring in the building and causes malfunctions, leading to concerns ranging from mild annoyance to potentially life-threatening consequences. With the increase in expensive technology driving healthcare, as well as tighter budgetary controls in the sector, the monitoring and control of pharaoh ants is particularly important at this moment in time.

As resilient as a cockroach

Why can’t we eradicate them like we do other pests? While they are not truly as hardy as cockroaches, control of pharaoh ants is more difficult than for many other pests.

Usually, social insects, such as bees, wasps, and black ants, have one queen. Pharaoh ants, on the other hand, are polygynous, meaning they have multiple queens. When they are disturbed, they can move their colonies from place to place far more easily and even fragment into bud colonies. This often means that exterminators don’t realise they haven’t eradicated the whole colony and, given time, infestations can come back more strongly than ever. We need to make sure that all packaging is durable and of high quality so that the food inside it is not available to fuel these little pests with a big influence.

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How i2L Research can help

We conduct package penetration trials in the UK, the USA, and throughout the EU. We test specific packaging types in line with customer needs and perform product screening trials to ensure all designs are resistant to specific pests as required. These are worst-case scenario trials, where packaging is exposed to a high pest pressure in an enclosed environment. This forces the pest to attempt to enter the packet. Results are quantified by the number of failed replicates. The route of entry is also reported, so that manufacturers can modify and improve their existing designs.

We conduct testing from early-stage laboratory efficacy screening of control products through to full field efficacy trials, which are often required for temperate and sub-tropical species. These are undertaken in our Czech office and are required for BPR registration for a general crawling insect claim. These trials are useful in generating real-world data for marketing.

As pharaoh ants are both a packaging and public health pest, packaging standards must be high to help avoid infestations. Their small size, varied diet, wide distribution, and tendency to fragment into bud colonies mean they are difficult to eradicate entirely.

Contact us, or request a callback, to get a quote for our package penetration or field efficacy trials today.

Source: https://t-tees.com
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