Garden Ants / Black Ants (Lasius niger)
Black Ant appearance
The Garden ant is black in colour and has a segmented body. Workers are 5mm in length and the queen 15mm long.
Flying Ants in Ireland — What Is Happening?
If you are suddenly seeing hundreds of winged ants emerging from a crack in your wall, floor, or paving, you are witnessing the annual mating flight (nuptial flight) of black garden ants. This happens on warm, humid days between mid-July and mid-September — often triggered by a rise in temperature after rain. All neighbouring colonies tend to release their winged males and queens simultaneously, which is why very large numbers can appear suddenly.
The winged individuals are new queens (large, up to 15mm) and males (smaller, with wings). They emerge, mate in flight, and the males die shortly after. New queens that survive will attempt to start new colonies by shedding their wings and finding a nesting site. The existing colony in your building does not move — the workers that remain are the ongoing infestation.
Flying ants are not harmful and do not sting. If they are emerging inside your property, the nest is located somewhere in the building fabric — most commonly under concrete or stone paving, in cavity walls, or between floor joists.
Habits
Nests are usually found in lawns, flower beds, underneath stones and paving slabs etc. They are also increasingly found in cavity walls and foundations of properties. Black ants are social insects and several thousand may be present in a large nest.
Black ants are opportunistic feeders that can easily be controlled with bait as they will “swarm” on foods that appear within their foraging range.
Indoors, they feed on nuts, cheese, honey, bread crumbs, meats, grease and pet bowls.
During summer, large numbers of winged females and males are reared in the nest. On warm and humid days, normally between mid-July and mid-September black ants swarm out and take flight.
Sometimes they all follow a trail inside premises and hundreds of black ants may appear in a few hours, causing distress to staff/residents.
Threats
Black ants can become a nuisance when they enter a facility but they do not present a threat to health. They do not transmit disease and they do not bite.
Prevention of Black Ants
- Individual black ant colonies can often be controlled using ant baits, but perimeter inspection and treatment are usually necessary for long-term pavement ant control. Their colonies are controlled by direct treatment of nests in the soil.
ASK AN ANT CONTROL SPECIALIST
DIY Ant Treatments - Get Rid of Black Ants
Contact Owl Pest Control
Do you have an ant infestation problem and need to talk to an expert?
Contact Owl Pest Control today!
Unit 19, Tallaght Business Centre, Whitestown Road, Tallaght, Dublin 24. D24 TD42
