While ants are fascinating creatures that play an important ecological role through soil aeration and organic recycling, they are not something you want trudging through your home. The typical garden or black ant in the UK live in colonies dominated by the queen ant dedicated to egg production, which can live for up to thirty years.
As the weather starts to warm up in spring, the worker ants that make up the vast majority of the colony begin to forage for food. Initially just a few scouts will leave the nest on this errand, yet this is the starting point of potential problems with ants intruding into houses.
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When ants forage for food nowhere is out of bounds in their quest. They will scavenge a wide range of foods, but have a particular liking for sugary substances. This is where the home becomes vulnerable, as anything from a small spillage of juice to a slice of cake left on the side will attract ants.
It does not take much sugar content to bring them in. While foraging, an ant also leaves a scent trail that not only helps them find their way back to the nest, but also helps other foragers follow the trail in the other direction. So the sight of a single ant in the house can be the prelude to many more visitors.
By the very nature of their size ants do not need much of a gap to be able to get into a house for food or just to shelter. Apart from if you have left the back door open, ants will get in through slight cracks in the foundation, gaps under the doors, or poorly sealed windows.
It is extremely difficult to keep ants out, but some general maintenance such as sealing cracks and crevices in doors and window frames at least reduces some of the entry points. The best way to keep them out though is to try to eliminate the causes that attract them in the first place.
Preventative means are probably the best way to stop ants intruding into the home. Keeping a clean house, cleaning up any spills straight away, and cleaning down food preparation areas will help. Remove any rotten fruit or vegetables, and keep sugar based products such as jams and cakes out of reach in sealed containers. Natural products such as salt, turmeric powder or paprika sprinkled around known points of entry can deter ants.
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Once the ants are inside, however, scooping them up and putting them out, or killing them on the spot, will unlikely put an end to more visitors coming due to the scent trails already laid. However you choose to remove the ants, the area where they have been will need to be cleaned thoroughly with a strong soap or window cleaner to remove the scent trail.
Household insecticides can be applied around the entry points, and also around the nest in the garden if located. Yet with the sheer quantity of ants and the low dosages of these insecticides this may well prove to be a short term solution. For serious ant problems, a professional pest controller should be used.
Ants that reside in the UK are pretty much harmless. Ants that are found in the garden or black in colour will not bite and do not carry disease. However, ants that have found their way into your home may have journeyed through grimy places and can spread contamination throughout your living areas.
Ants in the UK are not seen as a threat and can, in fact, kill other pests such as flies and fleas.
Because ants do not come alone and travel in their masses, they can find their way into the smallest of spaces and although ants are generally not dirty, their bodies can pick up dirt along the way.
Ants found in the UK are not poisonous. They may bite and sting but they are harmless to humans.
Types of dangerous ants across the world include:
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Ants can ruin the foundations of a home and cause a lot of damage.
Ants are attracted to any type of food source, so if your kitchen tops are dirty or there’s ready available fruit, sweets or crumbs – they will find their way to it. Ant colonies can consist of thousands or millions of tiny ants, which is why they seem to be everywhere, once you’ve found your first ant.
Ants are on a constant search for a good food source.
Ants can enter your home in various ways including under slabs, through cracks and floorboards.
Watch the ant trail and follow the direction they are coming from to find out where they are entering your home.
If you have ants in your home, the chances are they are Carpenter Ants, Pavement Ants, Thief Ants or Odorous House Ants. These are all home-dwellers that enjoy the food supply that’s kept within the home.
Or, how to kill ants without harming pets:
Pest Defence are experts in providing safe, efficient solutions to your pest problems, including invasions of ants and other insects. If you would like to know more about what we do, please feel free to get in touch with us today.
Source: https://gardencourte.com
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