The recent spells of warm wet weather have encouraged black garden ants to seek shelter in our homes. But what can you do to get rid of them...
Got ants in your house? A lot of people do this year, but how do you get rid of them?
Unfortunately, if you try calling an exterminator now, you'll probably get a busy signal, because everyone in town is trying to get rid of the little buggers. We expect the spring season to mean the return of all bugs. However, this year, ants seem to be the biggest nuisance. Right now it's probably the No. 1 pest in the east of England, if not in the United Kingdom. Even a small company such as ours, is getting upwards of 15 to 20 calls a day, just for ant control.
The ants are crawling through cracks, around the windowsill and into the sink looking for food. Warm, wet weather has helped to increase the amount of ants this year as compared to last year during the drier period, and the wet ground outside in helping to drive them indoors.
They're usually seen on the counter tops in the kitchen or crawling across the floor. Obviously they're not doing any damage, they're just a pest because they're there. To help prevent ants from getting into your household, avoid leaving soft drinks or food on the floor.
The best course of action to take to control the ants is to put powder around the outside of your house and baiting the ants with poison on the inside, in order to kill the whole colony.
The ants will take the poison and powder back to their nest and feed others, so not only is it going to control the ones eating it, but the ones they're taking it back to are also going to be controlled.
Controlling the ants is only part of the plan, because they will leave a scent trail for others to follow. If you want to get rid of the next wave, you've got to clean up after them. The ideal thing to use is a window cleaner that contains ammonia.
So, you've got your window cleaner, you've got your bait trap, the next thing you can do to keep the ants from coming back is to caulk the cracks where they're getting inside and check your gutters for rotting leaves. Also, make sure you don't have too much mulch on the side of the house because it makes an excellent nesting place for the insects.
It can take seven to 10 days before poison will wipe out an ant nest, and you may have to do it more than once. Of course calling out a professional pest controller will bring you piece of mind and will ensure that your ant problem is well and truly exterminated.