Ants
In the UK the two main species of Pest Ant we come across are the Common Black/ Garden Ant and the Pharoah’s Ant, both cover a wide area in search of food, and once found are seen trailing to and from their nest.
The Black/ Garden Ant does not pose any health risk to humans, but they can be a serious nuisance when entering buildings.
Black Ants (lasius niger)
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LIFE CYCLE: 50 – 70 days, each Black Ant colony has around 5,000 Worker Ants and a single queen. A queens life span can be up to 12 years.
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LENGTH: 2mm – 5mm.
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APPEARANCE: Black / Dark brown.
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HABITAT & HABITS: Normally found nesting under paving, in and around wall/ floor areas, etc
The Pharaoh’s Ant is however, a different matter, they pose a health risk to humans by transmitting pathogens due to feeding in unhygienic areas such as drains and food waste bins, etc making infestations in sterile environments particularly important to control.
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LIFE CYCLE: 38 – 45 days, each Pharoah’s Ant colony can have multiple queens, each laying up to 400 eggs over her lifetime.
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LENGTH: 1.5mm – 2mm.
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APPEARANCE: brownish yellow in colour and significantly smaller than the Black Ant.
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HABITAT & HABITS: In most cases in the uk, Pharoah’s Ant colonies are found indoors as they need warm humid conditions to survive, they can be found in a variety of locations such as hotels, residential blocks, food handling premises, hospitals, etc. Gaining control of a Pharoah’s Ant infestation can be a long process due to the fact they are prone to splinter away from the initial colony.