Ants
Ants and the Hendon Shared Kitchen
Ants follow a food trail laid by the first worker to find something sweet, and in a kitchen used by several people that trail is refreshed all day. One tenant wipes the worktop, another leaves a honey jar open, and the ants never lose interest. Why ants keep coming into the kitchen explains the pull.
The back door and the path
In Hendon's semis and terraces the kitchen is usually at the back, next to a door onto a patio or path. Black garden ants nest under paving, at the foot of the wall and in the joints of an old back step, and walk in under the door or through a crack at the threshold. Where ants nest around houses shows the usual spots.
Ground-Floor Rooms Let as Bedrooms
Many let houses have turned the ground-floor front or back room into a bedroom. When that room opens onto the garden, or has an old sash window at ground level, it gets ants a family living room never would, because it now holds a tenant's snacks, drinks and a warm, quiet floor. Ants in a bedroom usually lead to food kept there, and sealing it away is the first step.
Flying ants in summer
On a warm, humid day, winged ants may pour out of a crack by the back door or up through a gap in the floor. They are the colony's queens and males, and the swarm is over within a day or so. It does show where the nest is, which is worth noting. Why flying ants appear indoors explains more.
Small Pale Ants in a Flat
If you live in a flat in a heated block and the ants are tiny and pale yellow-brown, they may be Pharaoh ants, which nest indoors in warm places. They are rare in houses. Sprays can make their colonies split, so do not treat them yourself; Pharaoh ants and garden ants explains the difference. In a shared kitchen, small insects that run at night rather than trailing in daylight may be cockroaches.
The empty summer
A colony under the back path does not stop growing because the house is empty. By the time tenants return in September it may be at its largest, and the first open packet in the kitchen draws a trail within hours. Sorting food storage in the first week of a tenancy, before habits set in, makes the rest of the year easier.
What the House Can Do Now
- Keep sugar, jam, honey and soft drinks sealed, in the kitchen and in bedrooms
- Wipe worktops with warm soapy water, which removes the scent trail, instead of spraying
- Rinse cans and bottles before they go in the recycling
- Watch where the trail enters: back door, window, skirting or floor
- Tell the landlord or agent if it keeps returning
Booking and Afterwards
When you book ant control, say whether it is a house or a flat, which rooms are affected, and where the ants come in. Leave the trail visible on the day rather than cleaning it away. Ants may still be about for a while afterwards, and how long depends on where the nest is and how large it is; how long ant treatment takes explains. If activity has not eased, call us back. Filling cracks at the threshold and by the back step then makes a return less likely, as stopping ants entering your home sets out. For ants across the borough, see Ant Control Barnet.
