Ants in the house are the dread of many homes in summer leaving many people to fear the summer and the annual flying ants invasion which they expect the summer will herald
Only the unluck people who have suffered it will appreciate the true effects of flying ants in their homes.
Having an infestation of plain old wingless ants is bad enough but when they go through their yearly mating phase the situation can become intolerable.
Ants will form colonies in the sub-floor areas and in the wall cavities of our homes and these colonies will live for many years to come if left untreated becoming progressively more annoying as the years go on.
Our houses are warm and dry and make the perfect places for a thriving ant colony; even solid concrete floor is not a deterent to and ant colony.
Our house heating systems keeps their metabolism even in the colder months when they are not active outdoors and my earliest ant call-out was on my birthday, which is in January!
Ants prefer a sandy soil and there are many areas in Lancashire, Cheshire and Manchester which have more ant callouts than others, Southport, Blackpool, Bolton, Sale & Altrincham come to mind as regular ant areas.
Unfortunately it is during their mating time that they are most annoying. Here in Lancashire, Cheshire and Manchester this usually is pretty often around the third or fourth week in July.
Ants mate in flight and around mid-summer the colony produces flying immature Queens and flying males which in nature would fly off and mate on the wing. Many thousands of these winged ants are produced per colony and nests tend to synchronise their production so that they mate with ants from other nearby.
Normally this process starts after a couple of days of hot, dry weather and will typically last for about a week although smaller releases will extend throughout most of the summertime.
Unfortunately when the nest is built under the floor of the home the results can be devastating, literally thousands of winged ants are produced into the lower rooms, aiming for windows as they head for the light.
This can be unbelievably distressing for some people leading to extreme emotional upset to the extent that people learn to loath the summertime and have actually left their homes to escape the plague of ants which they know will come each summer.
The poor summers of 2007, 2008 & 2009 have meant that ant call-outs were down on earlier but ants apparently have a way of catching up and 2010 could possibly be a particularly troublesome year.
Many people who have this problem attempt for DIY solutions with products from DIY shops etc but mostly these efforts do not succeed as they are not getting to the heart of the problem which is the colony itself, securely hidding safely in the cavity wall or under the floor.
Luckily for many people the solution is at hand.
At Harrier Pest Prevention (subject to site survey) we are able to remedy this problem and issue an extendable 3 year guarantee.
The process which is done mainly from the exterior of the home, is perfectly safe for animals and children and produces no smell, involves drilling small holes into the cavity walls of the building, not unlike a damp-course injection and blowing an insecticidal powder into the cavity wall under pressure.
This forms an uncrossable barrier through which the ants cannot cross and together with a precautionary spray of the inside (if deemed necessary) will gradually bring the infestation to its end.
The holes, which are only 8mm in diameter remain open so it is an easy matter of topping up the cavities every three years to extend the period of the guarantee in three year periods.
This treatment is best carried out in the early spring however it can be done all year round.
As a very limited time offer before our busy period begins we are offering 25 percent off the normalstandard price until May 30 2010. Whilst we usually cover the whole of Lancashire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester, we are able to venture further afield but this will be reflected in the cost.
For a chat or to arrange an appointment contact Harrier Pest Control and Prevention on Free Phone 0800 019 8382 or 01257 230637
Ant Pest Control ? Don’t suffer flying ant horrors, call us now!