Ants are everywhere – indoors and out. And this year so far, with its drier than average spring and summer, these insects are having a booming time. And in the past few weeks they’ve been flying, too!
Ants live in organised nests of hundreds or even thousands. Most are wingless females (the ‘workers’). Generally they are infertile, but there will also be some fertile females (or ‘queen’ ants), and of course there will be a few males lolling about!
Ants mainly feed on other insects (including other ants – nice!). But they also collect the sweet liquid, or ‘honeydew’, that is excreted by greenfly, blackfly, and other insects that suck sap from plants. More than this, the ants actually protect their food providers from attack by ladybirds and other predators, in order to secure their supply of honeydew.
They don’t do much direct damage to plants, but they do disturb the soil around roots, and they deposit this soil on to the surface – which is annoying on lawns. They also create air pockets around roots, which can cause dryness and, in severe cases, the death of a plant.
Don’t forget, too, that some ants (mostly the red ones) can sting – but thankfully for most of us this is no more than a minor irritation.
The good news is that I’ve discovered Eraza Ant Killer, which easily reduces the problem to a bare minimum; remember, you will never, ever, be able to rid your garden entirely of ants.
It is available in two main forms: Eraza Ant Powder and Eraza Ant RTU (a ready-to-use liquid spray from a spray gun). You puff out the powder, or direct the spray jet, on to the entrances to nests, or the main ‘runs’ where the ants congregate. An application of the powdered form lasts for around three months, whilst the liquid form also contains a disinfectant to sanitise the area. In my experience, you’ll notice a cessation of activity within minutes.
Final tip: If your ant problem comes from an area that is fairly inaccessible, then you would be well advised to use Eraza Ant Bait Stations. In each pack there are three plastic containers, or ‘stations’ that contain some of the ant killer bait. The ants are attracted to it, and they enter the station, collect some of the bait and then take it back into the nest. Eventually the whole nest is killed off.
You can discretely locate the station, and with the two sticky pads on its base, you can even adhere it on a vertical surface. Genius!
By the way, all these products can be used indoors or outside.
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