Summer Can Herald The Arrival Of Large Ant Colonies

Some unwelcome insect visitors may appear in numbers in our gardens as the summer goes on. There are more ants in the world than any other creature on the planet – most of which seem to keep appearing in my garden!

Ants can become a pest problem, particularly if they build up in large numbers on lawn areas. Ant mounds can disfigure a lawn, and high numbers of adults can make amenity use of a lawn difficult. These mounds are the entrance to ant colonies which contain ants of varied roles, from workers, soldiers, drones to Queens. Ant nests can penetrate deep underground which creates many cavities for the colony to live in. This is why it is important to successfully apply the correct and quickest control method at the first attempt.

Ants can form large mounds and are capable of disfiguring lawns, or making amenity use of the turf challenging.

The Natural Ant Controls Available To Gardeners 

Some poison baits can be very persistent and leave harmful residues for other insects and wildlife, so treating ants effectively without damage to the local environment can be challenging.

At Dragonfli we do have a natural control for ants in the form of our Glue Bands For Trees. These grease bands form a barrier over trees that will prevent and catch ants, and other insect pests such as Codling Moths and Plum Fruit Moths, as they attempt to navigate the band and feed from your trees. The glue bands are completely non-toxic and are coloured green specifically so as not to attract any beneficial insects onto the band. These glue bands are highly recommended for use on young trees that may be more vulnerable to damage from insect pests.

Our Glue Bands will stop ants and other insect pests from causing damage to your trees.

Nematodes Are Not Effective Against Ants

Some garden suppliers offer nematodes for the control of ants. Whilst nematodes are brilliant control for many insect pests, as you can see from our extensive range of specific nematode controls, they are not effective against ants. The action of pouring water, mixed with nematode solution, may temporarily displace the ants, but will not kill anymore of them as would have been achieved by simply pouring unadulterated water over colonies and drowning some ants. The ants are likely to return shortly after this in any case.

Pouring unrefined water over ant colonies will have the same effect as pouring over a nematode solution would. Nematodes are not able to kill the ants.

If you prefer to use only physical means of control, repeated disturbance of ant colonies will eventually dislodge them and make them move.

Controls For Indoor Ant Infestations

If you are suffering from ant infestations indoors, we do also have a natural control available in the form of our Crawling Insect Traps. These traps will catch ants, and a variety of other common indoor insect pests such as Silverfish and Cockroaches, via a universal pheromone lure which will entice the pests into the trap where they are then caught on the sticky pads within. The trap is completely non-toxic, and safe for use around children and pets.

Our Crawling Insect Traps will catch ants indoors. The trap utilises a pheromone lure to attract ants before catching them with the sticky pads lodged within.