Black Garden Ants In Your Home?
Ants are adaptable creatures, capable of settling almost anywhere as long as they’re near a steady source of food, darkness and shelter. Most commonly, ant infestations settle just outside the home, but their resilience and size mean they could be anywhere. Front gardens, back gardens and cracked pavements just outside the home are classic ant hot spots. Don’t forget to check under concrete slabs and even
When you think Ants, you’re probably picturing Lasius Niger, commonly known as the Black Garden Ant. They are identifiable by their black or dark brown colouring, long antennae and distinctive pincers. Looking closely, they are covered in tiny hairs. Each ant is around 5 mm long. Black Garden Ants are very common across the world.
They have no stingers and their jaws aren’t strong enough to attack humans, so they don’t pose much of a physical threat by themselves. In numbers, they can easily overrun the home! Queen Black Garden Ants can live over 25 years in exceptional cases, with the average Black Garden Worker Ant living for around 4 years. This means ants can be surprisingly resilient. Left alone with a regular source of food, a single queen can easily multiply into 35,000 ants!
Search for ants around the garden, in between paving cracks and under rocks and stones. You may be able to spot dirt mounds at the entrance to their tunnels. Set bait traps near dirt mounds to reach the colony efficiently.
Ants are mini all-terrain vehicles, capable of taking advantage of the tiniest cracks to gain entrance into the home. Pay attention to door and window openings – we’re less likely to notice these seal faults in the warmer months but they’re prime ways for ants to gain access into properties. Be sure to check for cracks in skirting boards too! Ants are attracted to standing bodies of water, so make sure boiler rooms, bathrooms and kitchens are leak-free.
In the garden, repair cracks in patio tiles and try to minimise mounds of rocks and stones. Black Garden Ants do not like sunlight and will do everything they can to hide close to the earth.
Ants’ main natural food source is Aphids. As aphids feed on sap from healthy foliage, a lush and verdant garden can quickly attract ant colonies. These worker ants venture outside to gather food for the growing colony. The more well-fed they are, the stronger the colony.
Ants expand the nest by tunnelling deeper, expanding out into a lattice of hiding holes.
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