Ants
Why Ants Find Ground Floors First
The black garden ant nests outdoors, under paving, at the base of a wall or in the soil of a flower bed. Workers forage out from the nest, and when one finds sugar it leaves a scent trail that others follow. A ground-floor kitchen or a garden flat with a door onto a patio is the shortest walk from the nest, so it is usually the first to be found. Upper-floor flats see fewer garden ants, though trails can climb walls and pipes. Why ants keep coming into the kitchen explains what they are after.
Garden flats in converted houses
The ground-floor flat of an Edwardian conversion often has the garden, a patio against the back wall and a kitchen at the rear. Ants nest under the patio slabs and come in under the back door, around a waste pipe or through a gap at the bottom of an old window frame. Finding the ant nest helps you trace the trail back outside.
Cafés, bakeries and shops
A café or bakery on the parade has sweet food on display and in storage at floor level, and ants will find it from a nest in the yard or under the pavement edge. Businesses are quoted per site, so if you run one, call and describe the premises. The rest of this page is about homes.
Garden Ants or Pharaoh Ants?
Nearly every ant in a Golders Green home is the black garden ant. Pharaoh ants are much smaller, pale yellow-brown, and live indoors all year in warm buildings, often in heated blocks or large buildings with central heating runs. They are uncommon in houses, but they are harder to deal with and should not be sprayed, because that can make the colony split. Pharaoh ants and garden ants explains the difference. If you see tiny pale ants in winter, tell us when you book.
What to Do Now
- Wipe the trail with soapy water to remove the scent
- Keep honey, sugar, jam and cakes in sealed containers
- Rinse sweet drink cans and bottles before putting them in the recycling
- Find where the ants are coming in and note it for the visit
- Do not spray a trail of tiny pale ants, in case they are Pharaoh ants
Booking and Around the Visit
When you book ant control, tell us whether you are in a flat or house, which floor, where the trail comes in and whether you have a garden or patio. The technician will look at where the ants are coming from. How long it takes depends on the nest and the property, as how long ant treatment takes explains. Get back in touch if the trail returns once it has stopped.
Keeping Ants Out
Seal gaps around the back door and window frames, and around pipes where they enter the kitchen. Keep sweet food sealed and wipe surfaces at night. In a garden flat, keep the patio swept and the gaps between slabs clear of food. Stopping ants entering has more. If you see winged ants on a warm summer day, it means a nest is nearby but they will not last long. Other insects in the kitchen could be cockroaches in Golders Green, and spiders often follow insects into garden flats.
If you live above a café or bakery and find ants in an upper-floor kitchen, tell the business below, since a trail may be climbing from their premises. For ants across the rest of the borough, see Ant Control Barnet.
