This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Patio v's ant hill
Learning lou
Posts: 3
Hello
I'm hoping someone might be able to advise?
I'm hoping to lay a patio and small footpath in my garden but there seem to be a large mound running most of the way down it. We dug up the turf and flattened it a few years ago when we first moved in but it has reappeared and is much bigger!
Could this be a mass ants nest causing the problem? I'm worried if we lay something down after flattening the surface again that it could affect the path/patio in the future.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
Thanks
0
Posts
Hi Learning lou. Have you seen lots of ant activity around this mound?
Not particularly around the mound, but odd patches are appearing where they have broken through the surface of it...
Can you provide photographs? It doesn't sound like the sort of damage ants would do. All I've ever seen is comparatively small piles of very fine earth in the lawn. Piles a few inches across and a couple of inches wide.
Stick a spade in the mound and remove some earth. If it's crawling with ants then you have an ant colony. You can deal with it by using poison to kill them or by soaking it in lots of water scented with essential oil of cloves so they move on - don't like the smell.
Ants like dry conditions so keep the area moist so they don't come back and then lay your terrace and path with decent foundations.