Ants
Two Kinds of Ant in Colindale Flats
Before anything else, it helps to know which ant you have, because the two behave very differently and what works for one can make the other worse. Pharaoh ants vs garden ants sets out the differences.
Garden ants from the courtyard
Black garden ants are dark brown to black and about three to five millimetres long. They nest outdoors, and around the new blocks the courtyard beds, paving joints and planters on ground-floor terraces give them plenty of loose, warm ground. They come in under terrace doors and through gaps where paving meets the building, usually to the kitchen, and they are mainly a ground-floor problem in spring and summer.
Pharaoh ants in heated blocks
Pharaoh ants are tiny, around two millimetres, and pale yellowish-brown. They cannot survive a British winter outdoors, so they live inside buildings that stay warm all year, nesting in wall voids, behind skirting and in the linings around heating pipes. They are uncommon, and most ants in a Colindale flat will be garden ants, but a heated block with pipework running between flats is the kind of building where they can occur. Unlike garden ants they can appear on high floors, in bathrooms and in winter.
How to Tell Which You Have
- Size and colour: dark and a few millimetres long suggests garden ants; tiny and pale suggests Pharaoh ants
- Floor: ants on the fourth floor in January are unlikely to be garden ants
- Route: garden ants trail in from a door or the terrace; Pharaoh ants appear from sockets, skirting and pipe boxing
- Season: garden ants come and go with the warm months; Pharaoh ants stay all year
If you are unsure, take a close-up photo next to a coin before doing anything else.
What Not to Do With Pharaoh Ants
Do not spray them. Sprays and powders can cause a Pharaoh ant colony to split into several smaller ones, which then spread further through the building. Stop any DIY treatment, wipe up spills and keep food sealed, and tell your managing agent if you think they may be in more than one flat. Why ants come back after DIY treatment explains the pattern.
Garden Ants on the Ground Floor
For garden ants, watch where the trail comes in and follow it outside if you can. The nest is often under the terrace paving or in a planter against the wall. Communal courtyards are the managing agent's to look after, so mention nests in shared beds to them. Flying ants rising from a crack on one warm summer afternoon mean a nest nearby, as flying ants indoors explains; insects going in and out of one hole for weeks are more likely a wasp nest.
Booking Ant Control in NW9
When you book ant control, say which floor you are on, how big and what colour the ants are, where they appear and whether neighbours have them. Stop spraying before the visit so the ants are still visible. How long it takes depends on the type of ant and the building, and you should contact us again if activity has not dropped off. Small insects that run rather than trail, especially at night, may be cockroaches.
Keeping Ants Out
For garden ants, keep terrace door seals in good order, sweep paving joints and keep sweet food and pet bowls off the terrace. For Pharaoh ants, prevention in a block depends on the whole building, which is why they need the managing agent involved. Whether ants can nest inside walls covers the hidden side, and Ant Control Barnet covers ants in other Barnet homes.
