Garden Ants - How To Control Them
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Why Control Them?
- Black Ants, or garden ants as they are more commonly known, can become a problem during spring and summer months when they nest in and around buildings and gardens.
- Large swarms of flying ants can sometimes emerge from early spring. These are mating ants. Swarms may last up to 3 hours. After mating the males die but the females shed their wings and dig a cell in the soil where they may start new nests.
- Ants feed on a wide range of foods but are particularly attracted to sweet substances such as sugar or honey and will often invade homes, kitchens and cupboards etc in search for such food.
- Although ants are not inherently 'dirty' insects, they may sometimes walk across unclean areas during their foraging. This leads to them being considered unacceptable.
- When one foraging worker ant successfully locates a food source it is able to communicate this information to her co-workers which can lead to vast numbers of worker ants invading and contaminating human foods.
Prevention And Control
Control measures should only really be required where ants are invading or living in properties. To prevent invasion good hygiene is essential.
Always:
- Ensure all food waste and spillages are cleaned up immediately.
- Keep foods sealed in tight-fitting containers, especially sweet foods like sugar.
- Avoid leaving pet food out for long periods.
- Ensure that that rubbish bins are emptied regularly.
In cases of invasion:
- All cracks and crevices and other faults in the building should be sealed with mortar/cement or mastic, as appropriate (see diagram).
- These proofing measures should be supported with the application of a residual insecticide.
- All potential entry points should be sealed
Successful ant control using insecticides takes a great deal of time and effort as nests are frequently inaccessible and difficult to destroy. For this reason the best person to control the problem is often the occupier.
Using an insecticide:
Apply a continuous band of insecticide around doors, windows, ventilators, ducts and drains to form a barrier both internally and externally. Re-apply any external insecticide washed away by rain.
- Wall/floor junctions, ant runs and harbourages should all be treated.
- Particular attention should be given to small insignificant cracks which may be major points of entry for ants.
Insecticide should be applied around all points of entry
- Regular treatments will be required and should start when the first signs of activity are observed, normally in late spring.
- Treat flying ants with a suitable aerosol insecticide.
Some 'delayed action' insecticide baits can be very effective in destroying ants' nests. The worker ants transport the poison back to the nest which is then destroyed. The main active ingredients are sodium tetraborate and trichlorphon.
Suitable insecticides can be bought from most supermarkets, DIY stores and chemists.
Safety First
- Please remember that pesticides are dangerous. Always read the label before use and follow the manufacturers instructions at all times.
- Keep pesticides away from children and pets at all times.
Further Advice
If you have any questions about the information on this page or would like a professional treatment, please contact our Pest Control section (details at bottom of page).
Disclaimer:
North East Derbyshire District Council issues this guidance in good faith having taken all reasonable steps to confirm the accuracy of this information. It does not warrant or represent that the information is entirely accurate in every detail and the Council does not accept liability for any loss, damage or inconvenience howsoever caused which arises from use of or reliance upon this guidance.
The download below is in PDF format, for which you require Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have this go to the Adobe site to download it.
Downloads
Click here to download a copy of our leaflet on how to control and treat for ants (PDF format). (926 KB)
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