Those of us who lie on the West coast are dealing with the Argentine ant. I'd hate to think it has reached New Jersey. It has displaced virtually all other native ants in California. I read this in a book called "Adventures Among Ants" by Mark Moffett. This species is a single "clone" that arrived in Southern Alabama in the early 1900's and has spread across wide areas in America. Unlike its relatives in Argentina which often engage in massive battles the ants here do not do that and any worker can be accepted into any nest which often has multiple queens and thus can quickly multiply into massive numbers. The best way to control these ants is to deny them food which they are remarkably adept at finding. They also have the peculiar habit of using pots as a nesting site which is almost a diagnostic means of identification. Another interesting thought the author mentioned is that this species is a single colony from Costa Mesa to Redding whose net weight of ants equals the weight of the people in Carmel! Here is a list of reviews about the book. https://amazon.com/dp/0520271289/… _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…