Fighting ants

Ants cause a lot of nuisance in summer. They wander through your garden in large numbers and soon find their way into your kitchen. Fighting ants is the best choice in this case. You can easily have them exterminated, so you can walk through your house and garden without any worries again. Read all about costs, options and tips for ant control in this article.

What does ant control cost?

For professional ant control, you pay an average of £75 to £200. The pest control costs include call-out fees and the exterminator. The costs depend on the size of the ant infestation and the accessibility of the ant nest. Check out the different ant control costs in the overview below.

Why fight ants?

Ants are more of a nuisance than you might think. Not only are they annoying, but they also have a number of other drawbacks. See below why it is necessary to fight ants.

There is a risk of subsidence

Because of the large number of systems that ants dig, there is a chance that your driveway or other paving could sink. The corridors that the ants dig cause sand and soil to disappear under the tiles and air to get under the tiles, resulting in a possible subsidence.

Deteriorating for the grass and planting

Where the ants nest, little space is left for the planting and lawn. The ants burrow between the roots, eventually causing the greenery to die. You will end up with dead flowers or bare patches in your gezon.

Ants create other pests

When you have ants in your garden, chances are that you will suffer from aphids in no time. This is because ants love the mildew these animals secrete. They protect aphids from their natural enemies, such as the ladybird, so they can eat as much honeydew as possible.

No way to relax in your garden

Ants are not only bad for your garden, but also cause quite a bit of irritation. Some species bite, preventing you from relaxing in your garden. In addition, you no longer eat peacefully in your garden, as they immediately descend on your food. It is therefore wise to control ants, so that you can enjoy your garden all day again.

How does an ant infestation occur?

Ants hibernate in a warm and dry place, but when the sun starts shining, they start looking for food en masse. From March or April, ants start building their nests. They nest near food. Do you often leave food scraps in a certain place, such as around your outdoor kitchen or near your rubbish container? Then chances are you will have an ant nest there in no time. Ants mainly live in your garden, but they also occur in homes.

Ants in the home

You are also likely to have ants nesting in your home, as they like a warm and dry place. If they find a hole in the cavity wall, they will crawl in here to start a new colony. The ants actively search for food, leaving your kitchen not safe either. In autumn, the ants disappear again to hibernate.

Fighting ants: Work

Fighting ants involves a number of steps, depending on the location. It is wise to hire a specialist for this. He knows exactly where to place the pesticide and also has the most effective means. For both the house and the garden, the pest controller performs a number of tasks. Check out the activities for ant control below.

Fighting ants in the house

Fighting ants in the house is best done by a professional. The ants are often located between the cavity wall, in the crawl space or between the floor, making them difficult to reach. In most cases, the professional uses insecticide or bait to control the ants. When using insecticide, he sprays the toxic spray into and around the nest. It takes several hours for the pesticide to do its job. For bait, a gel is used in most cases. The ants carry this gel into the nest, after which the pest is controlled after a few days.

Fighting ants in garden

Fighting ants in the garden is relatively easy. The nest is easier to reach as it is often in the grass or under garden tiles. During control, the professional first checks where the nest is located. Then he considers which type of control is most effective. The pest control specialist is not allowed to use insecticide in the garden, as this is prohibited. He is therefore more likely to choose bait gel or an ant bait box. After the control, the nest will be gone within a few days, so you can enjoy an ant-free garden again.

Tips for ant control

Now that you have read all about ant control, it is still useful to read some tips, before calling in a specialist. Here are some tips on how to fight ants.

Prevention is better than cure

It is always better to prevent an ant infestation. Therefore, always clean up your food scraps and store food in a locked room. Also seal up as many holes in your cavity wall as possible so that you don’t give ants a chance to enter. Also seal all the bins in your garden properly and clean them regularly with some suds and water.

Fight other pests immediately

Have you hired a specialist to fight ants? Then consider carefully whether you also have other pests in your home or garden. Let the pest control specialist remove the wasps’ nest, fight cockroaches or control woodworm, so you can enjoy your home and garden without any worries. The specialist will then get straight to work and will not charge extra call-out fees.

Compare multiple specialists

Compare multiple quotes to get the best insight into the cost of ant control. Compare prices of labour, materials and call-out charges so you know exactly what the different specialists charge. This way, you can choose the pest control specialist that best suits your project.