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Ants

The Black Ant (Lasius niger) which is common in Britain is found mostly outdoors, nesting in lawns, walls and frequently under paving.  They can be of use to the gardener as they will feed on insects, greenfly etc.

At times they will venture indoors foraging for food, especially sweet things, sugar, jam etc. to take back to their nests.  This is when they may become a nuisance.

They can be of use to the gardener as they will feed on insects, greenfly etc.

Their colour can vary between dark-brown to black, and be 3-5mm in length.

During the summer and when the temperature is right, the nest will produce future queens which initially have wings. At the same time males will emerge also with wings and together they will swarm and mate, the males dying soon afterwards. Sometimes this can happen indoors if the nest happens to be in a wall cavity or under the floor and can be distressing for the householder. The swarming usually lasts a couple of hours and dead or dying males can be found afterwards. The females that have been mated will settle down and chew their wings off before digging themselves a cell to overwinter and then start laying eggs next spring.

Control

Ant nests can be difficult to find, especially in houses. The ants will tend to run around the outside of rooms, so check along skirting boards and door architraves. If you can find where they are coming out from then you can either use a proprietary ant powder or aerosol which should control the workers and hopefully weaken the nest to the extent that it will die. The other alternative is to seal any areas they are seen to emerge with a filler, i.e. silicone or polyfilla.

If your own treatment is successful or you do not want to use insecticides yourself, you can ring the Pest Control Department of the Council and they will either treat the ants for a small fee, or give you helpful advice for free.

For more information please phone 01993 861060 or use the online service on the right of this page.

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