A trail of ants across the worktop, ants coming up through the skirting boards, or a swarm of flying ants in the living room? Our ant control service tracks the ants back to their nest and treats it at the source, for homes and businesses across Bexley and South London. Wiping away the trail or using powder only deals with the ants you can see, so I focus on the colony. Call me for a price over the phone.
Most ant problems start in spring, as the weather warms up and colonies become active. Worker ants leave the nest looking for food, and once one finds something sweet or greasy in your kitchen, it lays a scent trail for the rest to follow. Within hours, you have a line of ants running from a gap in the wall or floor to the food cupboard.
The ants you see are only a small part of the colony. The nest, with the queen and thousands of workers, is usually hidden outside under paving or in the lawn, or inside wall cavities and under floors.
The small black or dark brown ants seen in most UK kitchens are black garden ants. They usually nest outside, under patios, paths, lawns and the edges of the house, and come indoors through gaps around doors, windows, pipes and airbricks. They don’t bite or cause damage, but they contaminate food and are very persistent.
On warm, humid days in summer, black garden ant colonies release winged ants to mate. They can appear in large numbers from a single nest, often through cracks in floors, around skirting boards or from under the patio. The swarm itself is short-lived, but flying ants coming up inside the house mean a nest is close by, possibly within the building.
Very small, pale yellow or light brown ants, found all year round and often in bathrooms, kitchens and heated flats, may be Pharaoh ants. Unlike garden ants, they nest inside warm buildings, in wall voids, behind skirting and in service ducts. They are a particular concern in blocks of flats, hospitals and care homes, and they need a very different approach, because spraying them can cause the colony to split into several new nests.
Red ants are common in UK gardens, particularly in lawns and under stones. They can give a painful sting, so nests close to patios, play areas and paths are worth treating, especially if you have young children or pets.
The key to getting rid of ants is finding where they are coming from. We follow the trail back from where you are seeing ants to the entry point and, from there, to the nest. Common nest sites include under patio slabs and paths next to the house, in lawn edges and flower beds against the walls, under suspended floors, in cavity walls, and in gaps around kitchen extensions where the new floor meets the old walls.
If you’ve searched for how to get rid of ants, you’ll know the usual advice: ant powder, sprays, boiling water and vinegar. They kill the ants they touch, but the workers you see are easily replaced, and the nest carries on producing more. That’s why the ants are often back within days. For Pharaoh ants, sprays can make the problem worse by splitting one colony into several.
We start by inspecting the property inside and out, identifying the species and tracing the ants to their nest and entry points. I’ll show you where they’re coming from and explain the treatment before we begin.
The treatment depends on the species and where the nest is. For garden ants, we treat the nest, the entry points and the trails. For species that nest indoors, we use baits the workers carry back to the colony, so the whole nest is dealt with, including the queen. Treatment is carried out over our three-visit programme, which allows us to check activity and treat any new trails that appear.
Keep worktops and floors free of crumbs and sticky spills, store sugar, honey, jam and pet food in sealed containers, and don’t leave pet bowls down longer than needed. Seal gaps around door frames, windows, skirting boards and pipes where ants are getting in, and keep patios and paths next to the house swept. Ant activity usually peaks in spring and summer, so a treatment early in the season can prevent months of problems.
In blocks of flats and larger buildings, particularly with Pharaoh ants, the best results come from treating the building as a whole rather than one flat at a time. For restaurants, cafes, food shops, care homes and offices, our commercial pest control contracts include regular inspections to catch activity early. We cover all of Bexley and South London, from the gardens and patios around Beckenham, Eltham and Sutton to flats and businesses across the whole area.
Not sure it’s ants? If the insects in your kitchen are brown or black, fast-moving and appear at night, they may be cockroaches. Tiny beetles or larvae in food packets point to stored product insects. Our insect control page covers all the insects we treat.
It depends on the species, where the nest is and how many areas are affected. Call us with a few details and we will give you an estimate over the phone.
Black garden ants don’t bite and aren’t a health risk, although they can contaminate food. Red ants can sting, and Pharaoh ants can carry bacteria, which is why they are a concern in hospitals, care homes and food businesses.
UK ants don’t eat wood or damage the structure of a house. Carpenter ants, which do, are not an established pest in UK homes. Ants may nest in damp or decaying wood, but that usually points to an existing damp problem.
Flying ants outdoors on a warm summer day are normal and don’t need treatment. If they are coming up inside the house, through floors or skirting, there is likely a nest within or right next to the building, and it’s worth having it treated.
Garden ants are rarely active in winter. Ants inside the house in the colder months usually mean the nest is somewhere warm inside the building, or that you have a species that lives indoors, such as Pharaoh ants.
Rentokil-trained and Level 2 certified, so you know you’re in safe hands.
We don’t just show up, treat, and leave. We walk you through exactly what we found, why it happened, and what we’re doing to fix it.
Pests don’t work 9 to 5, and neither do we. We’re available when you need us most.
We are Level 2 certified technicians, fully insured, and members of BPCA, BASIS Prompt and RSPH. You’re in safe, qualified hands.
Hundreds of satisfied clients across South London have trusted us to get the job done right, and we back every job with a satisfaction guarantee.
We’re not a faceless national company. We’re local, we care about our community, and we treat every property as if it were our own.
Call us or fill out the contact form. We’ll assess your situation and give you a straight, honest estimate over the phone.
Our technician visits your property, carries out a thorough on-site inspection, and begins treatment right away.
We carry out a 3-visit treatment programme to make sure the problem is fully resolved, not just temporarily patched.
Job done. Your property is protected, and you’ll know exactly what was done and why every step of the way.
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