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The black garden ant is the tiny ant you often see on sugary food in your home. During summers, winged adults fly in large groups to mate and then disperse to form new colonies.
The colonies of these ants are huge. Every colony has a queen who produces eggs and thousands of workers who bring in food, keep the nest clean, and look after tiny ants.
The black garden queen ants are black and have dark brown or black reddish legs and antennae. Each queen ant is about 9mm and can live up to 29 years. The worker ants are smaller in size and measure 3-5mm. They, too, are black and have reddish legs and antennae.
Black garden ants live below bricks and flowerpots in the garden area. You will likely find them between pavements and curbs in urban areas. These creatures have the habit of entering homes in search of food.
The fertile ants mate while flying for about two to three hours. Many times, these ants are eaten by birds. Once the mating flight ends, the male ants die, while the females shed their wings and begin to make individual chambers in appropriate nests in soil.
The new queen lays eggs and raises the larvae into adults. Once the larvae grow, the queen has her workers ready to collect food, rear the larvae, and protect the eggs. At the start of summer, the queen lays special eggs that develop into fertile-winged females and males.
Later, these fertile adults undertake the mating flight, and the females that successfully mate are ready to establish new colonies.
While ants don’t have the potential to carry diseases as flies do, they are likely to pick up bacteria from dirty places they walk upon. For example, if worker ants get into a dustbin or garbage and then travel on your kitchen counter, they are likely to spread germs. This makes it essential to keep them away from your home.
It is best to block all entry points of your home to keep these ants away. You must seal doors, skirting boards, tiles, holes in walls, etc. Any repair work must be undertaken quickly to avoid giving access to these creatures in your home.
It is common for kitchen floors to have crumbs or open cereal bags. These things may attract black garden ants, so keeping the floor clean is essential. In addition, clearing any uneaten pet food from homes with pets as soon as possible is best, as this, too, can draw these ants into your property.
Tom’s Pest Control specialises in offering home and commercial property owners high-quality ant control services. If you suspect your property has black garden ants, you must discuss the same with us.
Our team of trained and knowledgeable exterminators will examine every corner of your property to check where these pests are hiding in your property. Then, depending on the level of infestation, we will implement the right strategies to remove these creatures from your home permanently.
While we aim to offer the best pest control services, we do not compromise your safety. Our team uses safe products and techniques to remove black garden ants and their colonies from your property, so there’s no harm done to you or your family.
If pesky black garden ants have taken over, Tom’s Pest Control is here to help. We understand that dealing with a swarm of ants can be a bigger issue than it may seem, and we’re committed to getting rid of them as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Our experienced team are qualified to determine the size of the infestation and develop an effective strategy to eliminate all evidence of the ants from your property, so you can get back to enjoying life without having to worry about these unwelcome guests.
Black garden ants can eat anything they find in your home. These pests can live upon various things, from fruits and seeds to leftovers. Also, they prefer to eat other small insects, so if you see a dead insect on your property, you will likely see a trail of these ants on it. Black garden ants also feed on the sugary secretions created by aphids.
Black garden ants like to nest in dry soil and humus. However, it isn’t uncommon to find them in flower beds, lawns, and below paving stones. These ants forage widely for food, forming trails across soil and vegetation.
Ant workers are incredibly small but it is amazing to observe their nipped-in waists. With characteristic brown-black colouring, these tiny creatures labor under the sun with no wings, yet there is a more noticeable flying adult species.
Comparing the two forms of ants can be quite striking; while they are of the same kind, it is clear to see that their shapes and colours vary drastically between the ant workers and flying adults. Having said this, both have an important role in the lives of ants and play a crucial part in keeping its population thriving.