Ant treatment in East London

What ants look like

Ants have three clear body sections, a pinched waist and elbowed feelers. Black garden ants are shiny dark brown to black and come in from outside, while Pharaoh's ants are much smaller, pale yellowish with a darker tail end, and live deep inside warm buildings. If the ants you're seeing are tiny, pale and in an upstairs bathroom in winter, think Pharaoh's ants rather than garden ants.

Size

Garden ants 3–5 mm; Pharaoh's ants about 2 mm

Colour

Garden ants black; Pharaoh's pale yellowish-brown

Breeding

Garden nests: one queen, thousands of workers

Diet

Sweet food, plus protein and grease

Hides in

Under paving outdoors; Pharaoh's in warm wall voids

Signs of ants

• Ant trails

  Lines of ants running along skirting boards, worktops or windowsills towards food, pet bowls or bins.

• Small soil piles

  Little heaps of fine soil between paving slabs, along walls or at the edge of a lawn, marking nest entrances.

• Flying ants

  Winged ants emerging in large numbers on a warm, humid summer day, showing a mature nest nearby.

• Tiny pale ants indoors

  Yellowish-brown ants around 2 mm long in warm rooms, bathrooms or around heating pipes, which may be Pharaoh's ants.

• Ants in food

  Ants inside sugar, jam, honey or open packets in the cupboard.

Life cycle and breeding

A black garden ant nest starts with a single queen and grows over a few years to several thousand workers. The queen can live for many years, so the same nest can send ants into your kitchen summer after summer.

1. New queen

   On a warm, humid summer day, winged queens and males leave the nest to mate. Each mated queen sheds her wings and digs in, often under a slab, to start a nest alone.

2. Eggs and grubs

   She lays tiny white eggs that hatch into legless grubs. Once there are workers, they do the feeding, which is why foragers carry food home.

3. Pupae

   Grown grubs spin pale cocoons. These are the so-called ant eggs you see workers rushing to safety when you lift a paving slab.

4. Workers

   New workers appear usually around two months after the egg was laid, depending on warmth. The nest slows right down in winter and starts again each spring.

Where ants live and how they get in

Black garden ants nest outdoors in dry, well-drained soil: under patio slabs and paths, below doorsteps, at the foot of walls and along lawn edges. Only the foraging workers come inside, following a scent trail to food and back out again. Pharaoh's ants can't survive a British winter outdoors, so they live entirely inside heated buildings, in wall voids, behind skirting and around heating pipes.

• Under back doors and through gaps around door frames and thresholds.
• Through cracks in mortar and render, and around window frames, especially by the kitchen.
• Along pipes and cables where they come through the wall.
• Up through gaps behind kitchen units and under skirting boards.
• Pharaoh's ants travel along heating pipes and ducts, and can arrive in boxes, deliveries or furniture.

Why it matters

How ant treatment works

1. 1

   Identifying the species

   We confirm the species and trace trails back to the nest or entry point, since killing the ants you can see rarely affects the colony.

2. 2

   Garden ant treatment

   For black garden ants, treatment is aimed at the nests and the routes the ants use to come indoors.

3. 3

   Baiting Pharaoh's ants

   Pharaoh's ants are treated with a hormone bait that stops the colony breeding, so it dies out gradually. Sprays are avoided because they can make colonies split and spread.

4. 4

   Follow-up and prevention

   Baits must be left in place rather than cleaned away, and a follow-up visit checks them. We also advise on sealing entry points and keeping food covered.

What you can do yourself

• Follow the trail

  Watch where the line of ants goes. It'll lead you to the gap they're using, and often to a nest under a slab or at the foot of a wall outside.

• Bait, don't spray

  Put a shop-bought ant bait right on the trail, follow the label and keep it away from children and pets. Workers carry it home and share it, reaching ants you'll never see.

• Give the bait time

  You may see more ants on the bait for a few days. Leave them to it rather than wiping them up, and they'll tail off as the nest is affected.

• Treat the nest outside

  If you can find the nest between slabs, an ant powder or nest treatment from a garden centre can go on the entrance. Use it as the label says and keep children and pets off the area.

Prevention

• Wipe up sugary spills and crumbs straight away, and keep sweet foods in sealed containers.
• Rinse recycling and keep kitchen bin lids closed.
• Seal gaps around windowsills, door frames and the points where pipes enter the house.
• Avoid leaving pet food down for long periods, especially in warm weather.
• Do not spray suspected Pharaoh's ants with household insecticide, as it can scatter the colony.

Garden ants come indoors most from spring to late summer, with flying ants usually appearing in July and August, while Pharaoh's ants are active all year in heated buildings.

Common myths

• Myth: Ants only come into dirty kitchens.

  The truth: A drip of jam, a sugary glass or a pet bowl is enough. Scout ants find food in the cleanest kitchens and lay a trail for the rest.

• Myth: Vinegar or cinnamon lines will keep ants out.

  The truth: Strong smells may break up a trail for a while, but the ants soon find a way round. The nest outside carries on as before.

• Myth: Once the flying ants have gone, so has the nest.

  The truth: The flight is just the nest sending out new queens. The colony carries on and will be back foraging next spring.

Questions about ants