Ants Nest Problems? - PEST UK

Providing pest control services in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, London, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Midlands, West Sussex, Wiltshire. Est. 1985.

Ants Nest Problems?

In Pests

Ants Nest Problems?
At PEST UK call outs and enquiries for ants mainly happen in the Spring but when the weather is very mild Ant cal outs may start in late January.
Ant
The actual number of Ant callouts and enquiries has diminished over the past five years. This may be that the Ants themselves are not doing so well or it may be down to people being short of money or both. Ants are not considered a health hazard as are cockroaches, rats or mice or are they a pest that needs to be dealt with due to other reasons than health such as bees, wasps, bed bugs, squirrels or fleas. although the bulk of ant calls are in the Spring we get bursts of calls once the nests swarm. This is normally early Summer. People tend to think that winged ants a are different species to ‘normal’ ants. This is not the case, winged ants are the Queens and Drones and is how Ants reproduce and spread.

The .normal’ ants that are seen in the green and some times inside are all strike females. Ants are the same as most wasp speices and some bees in that only the Queens are fertile and have the capability to lay eggs. The Queen and Drone ants are produced in the nest and kept in there until the conditions are right for release (although they are forced out). This happens once the humidity and temperature are suitable, usually a humid and warm day. This happens to ants nests over a wide area. This fact is important because as with wasps, the Queens and Drones mate with Queens and Drones from other nests, not the same nests to prevent inbreeding. Once they have mated the Queen sheds her wings and finds a place to rest. It is not until the following Spring that these fertilised Queens start a new nest.

BPCA Advice on Ants

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