Remedy
First we find the nest entrances. These are indicated by small piles of earth pellets or can be located by watching the ants moving back and forth from nest to food.
This should be followed-up by puffing an insecticidal powder product into the hole. We select a powder or liquid product which is listed for ants on its label.
An insecticidal lacquer can be applied around door thresholds or wall/floor junctions where ants run, or spray these areas with an insecticidal aerosol which is labelled for this use.
Some products cause the workers to destroy their own nests, for example sugar based liquid bait containing borax. The workers are attracted to the bait and carry the insecticide back to the larvae and queen.
Some centrally heated blocks of flats may be troubled by the much smaller tropical Pharaoh’s Ant, which prefers protein to sweet foods and has multiple - and often inaccessible – nests within the building structure.
Ghost Ants are becoming more common in heated buildings. These are a similar size to Pharaoh’s ants and is pale coloured with a dark thorax and head. Control must be left to professional operators.