The most common species that invades houses is the Black Garden Ant. They are highly organised social insects. It is the foraging worker ants that invade buildings in search of food. These are from 3 to 5mm in length and are attracted to sweet foodstuffs which they take back to the nest to feed to the larvae and queen.
Flying ants are the reproductive males and females. These mating ants are winged and have a nuptial swarming flight during only a few days in July or August. Mating takes place in the air and the female then seeks out a nest site where she stays for the winter, laying eggs the following spring in order to start up a new colony.
Ants are only a problem once they start invading your home. Then you find them spreading throughout the property and in particular the kitchen where they are in search of food. Again we always recommend hiring professionals if you are concerned about an infestation. There are plenty of amateur products out there but are often misused and can lead to a spread of the problem. We use an insecticidal gel bait formula which attracts the workers to the bait and carry the insecticide back to the larvae and queen, destroying the nest from the inside. We also monitor with sticky traps and survey for any building defects or housekeeping issues which attribute to the problem.
A more concerning but thankfully much rarer species of ant is the Pharaohs Ant. A very small tropical species of ant of increasing importance in the structures of large centrally heated buildings, especially hospitals and high rise blocks of flats where it can be a serious public health pest. These ants are particularly difficult to control and eradicate due to their ability to split the colony and spread over an area. Successful control can only be reached by baiting techniques, not by residual treatments.
Do not use chemical sprays on these ants as you can make the problem 100x worse.
We highly recommend that you call us for a professional free of charge survey if you suspect that you have these Pharaohs ants. We can start treatment immediately following the survey to get on top of the problem.
Click here to enquire about EnviroShield ant pest control services.
EnviroShield Pest Management - Bishops Stortford 