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Ants under patio slabs

watson.andrewjamesbYS4VQ2rwatson.andrewjamesbYS4VQ2r Posts: 2
edited June 2023 in Problem solving
The age-old question of ants in the garden. 

We've a well-established garden with a patio that runs along the back of the house. This year I've seen more and more ants on the patio (never inside the house) and just wondering what to do with them. 

In part I don't want them coming in, so boiling water is an option, but also they are an important part of the system and killing them isn't great. I've mainly kept an eye on the nests near the slabs that go up to the wall but do others just leave them or are they seen as a real nuisance?

The thing is, we bought this house maybe 4 years ago, the patio has been down maybe 15 so they have not arrived overnight! The ease of lifting slabs (by hand in some cases) is making me think it's time to relay the patio but I don't want them just to reappear. 

Thoughts/tips? I'm new to gardening (despite owning the house for years) but never had a garden up until then. 

Posts

  • Cambridgerose12Cambridgerose12 Posts: 1,134
    They don't do any harm. If they do come in it's because you have some food handy for them, so just cover that up and they stop coming. Their numbers and activity levels grow at certain times of year, so you may see a lot for a week or so but then they are no longer so visible. I view them as part of the ordinary cycle of things and just let them be. There are some countries where they're a pest or damaging, but not in the UK.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited June 2023
    This works brilliantly here in a similar situation … they’d started coming into the house but this works … we spray along the skirting board where they’d infiltrated and against the house walls where the paving and wall joins .., in the spring when they first appear and a couple of gimmes after that (after heavy rain etc). Marvellous. 
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/ExAnts-Organic-repellent-protection-Alternative/dp/B079VW2KVV 

    there are other stockists if you Google 

    good luck 🤞 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Haven't seen one since I sprinkled clove oil in the porch. Nice smell too
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • BluejaywayBluejayway Posts: 392
    Haven’t had any in the house since I placed a large pot of spearmint outside, near their entry point
  • watson.andrewjamesbYS4VQ2rwatson.andrewjamesbYS4VQ2r Posts: 2
    edited June 2023
    Cambridgerose12 said:
    They don't do any harm. If they do come in it's because you have some food handy for them, so just cover that up and they stop coming. Their numbers and activity levels grow at certain times of year, so you may see a lot for a week or so but then they are no longer so visible. I view them as part of the ordinary cycle of things and just let them be. There are some countries where they're a pest or damaging, but not in the UK.

    Thanks, yes we don't leave any food out, or fruit. Quite a bare worktop. Usually washed down daily, and hoovered in the kitchen. We also did a bit of repointing recently too so more of a barrier to entry. 

    Dovefromabove, B3 and Bluejayway thanks for the tips. I'll keep them to hand in case they make an appearance. 

    What happens after flying ant day? Do they start to settle down for winter? It's one of those things, I think, that the more I looked on our patio, the more I found. Not sure I'd have been fussed otherwise. 
  • BluejaywayBluejayway Posts: 392
    @watson.andrewjamesbYS4VQ2r. You’re welcome 😁
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