Flying ants are the scourge of many houses in summer leaving many people to dread the summer and the annual flying ants invasion.
Only the unfortunates who have suffered it will know the true nature of flying ants in their homes.
Having an infestation of plain old wingless ants is bad enough but when they go through their annual mating phase the situation can become horrifying.
Ants often form colonies under the floors and in the wall cavities of our dwellings and these colonies will continue for many years if left untreated becoming progressively more persistent every year.
Our dwellings are warm and dry and provide the ideal places for a thriving ant colony; even solid concrete floor is not a deterent to an ant.
Our central heating systems keeps their metabolism even in the depths of winter and my earliest ant call-out was on my birthday, in January!
Ants like a sandy soil and there are many areas in Lancashire, Cheshire and Manchester which tend to provide more ant problems than most, Southport, Blackpool, Bolton, Sale & Altrincham come to mind as hot ant locations.
Unfortunately it is during their mating period that they are most annoying. Here in Lancashire, Cheshire and Manchester this tends to be pretty often around the third or fourth week in July.
Ants mate on the wing and around mid-summer the colony produces winged immature Queens and winged males which in nature would fly off and mate whilst airborne. Many thousands of these winged ants are produced from each and nests tend to synchronise their release in order to mate with ants from neighbouring.
often this process starts after a few of days of hot, dry weather and will typically last for about a week although smaller releases will carry on throughout most of the summermonths.
Unfortunately when the nest is located under the floor of the home the results can be devastating, literally thousands of winged ants are released into the lower rooms, collecting on windows as they head for the light.
This can be unbelievably upsetting for some people leading to severe emotional trauma to the level that people learn to dread the summertime and have actually sold their homes to escape the plague of ants which they know will come each summer.
The poor summers of 2007, 2008 & 2009 has meant that ant jobs were down on the preceding but ants appear to have a way of catching up and 2010 looks set to be a particularly troublesome year.
Most people who have this problem attempt for DIY solutions with powders from hardware shops etc but mostly these efforts do not work as they are not getting to the heart of the problem which is the colony itself, tucked safely in the cavity wall or sub-floor area.
luckily for many people help.
At Harrier Pest Control (subject to site survey) we are able to solve this problem and issue an extendable three year guarantee.
The treatment which is done mainly from the outside of the home, is perfectly safe for animals and children and produces no smell, involves drilling small holes into the cavity walls of the house, not unlike a damp-course injection and blowing an insecticidal powder into the cavity wall under pressure.
This forms an impenetrable barrier through which the ants cannot go and along with a precautionary internal spray treatment (if deemed necessary) will gradually bring the infestation under control.
The holes, which are only 8mm in diameter remain open so it is a simply matter of topping up the cavity walls every three years to extend the effectiveness of the guarantee in three year terms.
This treatment is best carried out in the early spring however it can be done at any time of year.
As a limited time offer before our busy period begins we are offering 25% off the normal cost until May 30 2010. Whilst we normally cover the whole of Lancashire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester, we are able to travel further afield but this will be reflected in the cost.
For a chat or to arrange an appointment contact Harrier Pest Prevention on Free Phone 0800 019 8382 or 01257 230637
Ant Pest Control ? Don’t endure ant infestations, call us now!