1. Overview
The black or garden ant is the most common British ant to enter houses and it is found in almost all parts of the country.
The worker ant is very dark brown, almost black, and about 5mm long. The queen, which is rarely seen except for certain months in the summer, is about 15mm long and mid brown colour.
2. Where they live
The queen makes the nest in the soil, in grassed areas beneath paving and patios and sometimes in hollow trees.
The nests are usually outside buildings although sometimes they may be found in the wall or foundations of a house.
3. What they eat
The foraging workers follow well-defined trails to their feeding grounds, which may be many meters from the nest. They enter buildings, often through very narrow crevices, and if one ant finds food, there will soon be others.
Ants foraging for food in houses may become a considerable nuisance to the householder.
4. Problems they can cause
Worker ants will frequently enter dwellings foraging for food, particularly sweet substances. While not a risk to human health, they can be present in sufficient numbers to cause a nuisance.
The emergence of numerous winged ants can cause alarm to some people, particularly if these 'flying ants' are emerging inside a building, which usually happens on a warm summer's day. These flying ants may be a nuisance, but they are harmless and nothing can be done to stop them swarming.
5. The treatment process
There must be someone over the age of 18 at the property when we visit.
If you have any of your own treatments down please ensure that they are all removed before we visit. If these steps are not taken the officer may not be able to complete the treatment.
The pest control officer will treat internal wall/floor areas of the affected premises. Gardens and patios are not treated because this will not be effective. There is no guarantee of eradicating the ants due to the nature of the insects, but they will hopefully be controlled.
If you feel you need a revisit you should wait at least 14 days to give the chemical time to take effect. When the pest control officer arrives on site he will treat the area, even if no ants can be seen. If you contact us after 28 days, then this will be deemed a new job and you will incur a new charge.
If you book a treatment and our officer visits, but cannot carry out a treatment, you will still be charged. This is because you are paying for an officer to visit your property.