Is this termites?

littlemiss19

Hi, we live in a Victorian terrace and had a new engineered wood flooring laid over our floorboards about two years ago. In the past two weeks we are finding a pile of grey thick 'dust' near the copper pipe that goes from the floor to the radiator. We vacuum the dust and a couple of days later it reappears. There are ant like creatures around. We've googled it and it seems to be termites (?!) and the grey dust is their dropping called frass.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what it may be?

Does anyone have any cost-effective ways to permanently get rid of them?

Thanks,

Little Miss

fatbelly

Those ant-like creatures are ants. I'd try ant powder.

twopenny

Yes, ants. They are frantically trying to build nests between now and July. They are particularly bad this year.

Look round the outside for an air brick or hole on the mortar where they are getting in. There's usually a trail of ants coming and going outside to wherever the entry point is.

I bought a house that was barely visited for 15 years and ants had got in the air brick, eaten through the mortar and the concrete floor around the patio doors.

I had to dig out the gravel drain, scrape out loose mortar and refill the mortar mixed with ant powder. Sprayed into the air brick.

They still aim for it every year among other spots. It's an ongoing battle. The ant traps are a good backup plan and wildlife, pet friendly.

Keep_pedalling

Termites are only found in warmer climates than ours, These will be Lasius niger Black Garden Ant or one of its close relatives, perfectly harmless and the only way of perminantly getting rid of them is by making sure there is no source of food for them.

The only ants to worry about in the UK are Formica ligniperda Carpenter Ants, because they hollow out wood to make their nests and Monomorium pharaonis Pharaoh Ant an invasive tropical species that is a major problem for hospitals.

Emmia

If you don't have pets or children I'd try some of the Nippon ant killer liquid on a piece of tinfoil The ants eat it and then take it back to the colony, killing it.

https://amzn.eu/d/0dWd5zYy

Alternatively the Nippon bait stations also work

https://amzn.eu/d/0frRxFiX

casper_gutman

It's highly unlikely that you have termites.

So far only one instance of an established termite infestation has been identified in the UK, in 1994 at a bungalow in Saunton, north Devon. The UK Termite Eradication Programme (TEP) was launched in response. The government invested significant sums, and the impact on the property owners can't be understated - in desperation they applied for permission to demolish their home and there was even talk of burning it down. Permission was eventually denied after a two-year battle. It went all the way up to the Secretary of State who ruled to prevent a perceived risk of spreading the termite problem further afield.

The TEP was finally declared a success in 2021, with no signs of termite activity in a survey zone 100m long and 30m deep under the property. It's the only known instance of a country eradicating termites once a colony was established.

‘A world first’: Devon calls victory in 27-year war on termites | Devon | The Guardian

FreeBear

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82005587#Comment_82005587

Whilst not endemic to the UK, a colony of termites were discovered in Devon back in 1994. After a lot of work by various authorities, the infestation was eventually eradicated. Source - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/dec/21/a-world-first-devon-calls-victory-in-27-year-war-on-termites

There have been the occasional termite "problem" discovered elsewhere in the UK. More often than not, as a result of imports of timber from overseas where termites are endemic.

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82005587#Comment_82005587

The only ants to worry about in the UK are 

Formica ligniperda 

Carpenter Ants, because they hollow out wood to make their nests and 

Monomorium pharaonis

 Pharaoh Ant an invasive tropical species that is a major problem for hospitals.

Although if you sit on, or put your hand on a nest of Red Biting Ants, you might worry about them too !