The warmer months will soon be here, and with the sunshine come the things we look forward to: outdoor gatherings, drinks in the garden and barbecues with the neighbours. Unfortunately, a handful of common summer pests have a habit of crashing the party, among them wasps, ants and houseflies.
This is part of our series on managing common summer pests so they do not spoil your outdoor plans. We have already covered wasps, and houseflies are coming up next. Here we turn to ants.
Why ants are a summer nuisance
Ants are tiny, but they still cause plenty of bother. The last thing you want is a trail of them marching across the table or over your food, and your guests will not thank you for ants crawling up their legs either.
The one you are most likely to meet in a UK garden is the black garden ant. You will usually spot it as a trail heading towards something sweet, with a second trail leading back to the nest.
Dealing with the nest
An ant’s nest is typically a small mound of earth, and even the slightest disturbance sets off a flurry of activity as the colony reacts to what it sees as an attack. A reliable way to tackle ants is with a sugar-based insecticide. The forager ants carry it back to the nest, mistaking it for a sweet treat, and it does its work as the rest of the colony feeds on it.
Worth bearing in mind: ants will sometimes nest under floorboards or inside wall cavities. It is less common, but it does happen in UK homes. If you have a lot of ants indoors and cannot trace the source, this may be why.
If you have an ant problem you cannot get on top of, call our pest removal team and we will help you out. We are open every day except Christmas Day, from early until late.