A Pest Controllers guide to The Garden Ant

Lasius niger

Introduction to the Garden Ant.

There are a number of different types of ant in the U.K. and increasingly a number of tropical ants have made their presence known, but by far the most common invader of peoples homes is the  Black Garden Ant.

Biology.

The swarming flight of the newly emerged males and females is a common sight on a hot sunny afternoon in July or August.

This flight is their mating flight and males and females mate whilst in the air. After a few days the males die off. The females bite off their wings and either return to the original colony or  find a suitable location to over winter. Normally  by digging a tunnel under a stone, here she will remain until the following spring before she commences to lay eggs.

These eggs will start the new nest, they hatch in about 28 days, during this time the new young queen rests. When the larvae hatch she feeds them. This stage lasts about 23 days until new workers hatch, these new workers then start to nurse the new larvae, search for food and tend to the queen.

The workers lay scent trails as they move to guide other workers to food, this is why you often see them "marching" in such an organized way, this process carries on until the next mating flight and everything starts again.

Disease.

These insects are not known to be direct carriers of any disease, but they can cause cross contamination by walking over infected areas.

Economic Importance.

For most householders intrusion of Black ants can be of great annoyance and if they find a suitable sweet food source they can ruin food by their presence within it. This can often be the case in care homes and hospitals where Black ants find sticky residues of fruit squash or bowls of boiled sweets. This sight often brings with it the impression that house keeping standards are not what they could be.

For the bakery or food shop the sight of ants crawling over cakes and biscuits can cause significant financial loss. Not many customers like to buy there afternoon treat with added protein !