Trivia Galaxy

Flying ants are the scourge of many houses in summer months leaving many people to dread the summer and the annual flying ants invasion which they expect the summer will bring

Only the unluck people who have suffered it will realise the true horror of flying ants in their houses.

Having an infestation of plain old wingless ants is bad enough but when they go through their annual mating phase the situation can become unthinkable.

Ants regularly form colonies in the sub-floor areas and in the wall cavities of our dwellings and these colonies will continue for many years if left untreated and become progressively more troublesome as the years go on.

Our dwellings are warm and dry and provide the perfect places for a thriving ant colony; even solid asphalt floor is not a deterent to an ant.

Our central heating systems maintains their metabolism even in the winter months and my earliest ant job was on my birthday, which falls in January!

Ants prefer a sandy soil and there are lots of areas in Lancashire, Cheshire and Manchester which tend to provide more ant callouts than most others, Southport, Blackpool, Bolton, Sale & Altrincham come to mind as hot ant areas.

Unfortunately it is during their mating phase that they are most irksome. Here in Lancashire, Cheshire and Manchester this usually is pretty regularly around the third or fourth week in July.

Ants mate in flight and around mid-summer the colony produces winged immature Queens and winged males which in nature would fly off and mate on the wing. Many thousands of these flying ants are produced by each and nests tend to time their release so that they mate with ants from neighbouring colonies.

Often this process starts after a few of days of hot, dry weather and will often continue for about acouple of weeks although smaller releases will carry on throughout most of the summer.

Unfortunately when the nest is located under the floor of the dwelling the results can be devastating, literally thousands of winged ants are released into the lower rooms, aiming for windows as they go towards the light.

This can be extremely upsetting for some people leading to severe emotional trauma to the degree that people learn to fear the summertime and have actually sold their house to avoid the plague of ants which they know will come each summer.

The colder summers of 2007, 2008 & 2009 has meant that ant infestations were reduced on previous years but ants appear to have a way of catching up and 2010 could possibly be a particularly troublesome year.

Most people who have this problem attempt for DIY solutions with potions from hardware outlets etc but mostly these efforts are doomed to failure as they are not getting to the heart of the problem which is the colony itself, tucked safely in the cavity wall or under the floor.

Fortunately for most people the solution is at hand.

At Harrier Pest Control (subject to site survey) we are able to cure this problem and issue an extendable three year guarantee.

The process which is done mostly from the outside of the home, is perfectly safe for animals and children and leaves no smell, involves drilling little holes into the cavity walls of the property, not unlike a damp-course injection and blowing a long lasting insecticide into the cavity wall under pressure.

This forms an uncrossable barrier through which the ants cannot go and along with a precautionary internal spray treatment (if deemed necessary) will gradually bring the ant colony under control.

The holes, which are only 8mm in diameter remain open so it is an easy matter of topping up the cavity walls every three years to extend the period of the guarantee in 3 year blocks.

This treatment is best carried out in the early spring however it can be done at any time of year.

As a very limited time offer before our busy period begins we are offering 25 percent off the usual price until May 30 2010. Whilst we normally cover the whole of Lancashire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester, we are able to travel further afield but this will be at extra 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 endure ant problems, call the professionals!

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