Ant question ..

another_casualty · 9 October 2017 at 12:59PM

Howdy!
I have been living in an old ground floor flat built around 1900.
It’s part of a big house seperated into 3 flats since about 2000
Old wooden floorboards , now carpeted . New laminate bathroom floor , new vinyl flooring in kitchen etc.
I moved in here in June and everything is more or less sorted out .

However, this morning I saw about a dozen ants in the small bedroom
It’s not being used as a bedroom but has an wardrobe / sideboard and Computer desk in there . It also has the boiler under the window
Sorry for the long detail.

The ants were on the ceiling and coving in a few small groups. Only about a dozen or so. I killed most with a shoe .
I just got back from buying some Raid Spray.
I haven’t seen anymore since. They don’t ( so far) seem to be anywhere else in the flat . Fingers well and truly crossed.

I was wondering if I could be getting an infestation or is it a one off?
The flat above is vacant and a fortnight ago was advertised to Let for new tenants . Having looked on the right move website, it is now withdrawn from the market.
I could be over thinking and over worrying , but want to nip it in the bud ASAP .

These are not flying ants .
I have Raid Spray , but I can’t really put powder on ceiling .
Please could someone advise

Thanks

societys_child · 9 October 2017 at 1:24PM

These are not flying ants

Flying ants are the young females leaving the nest (usually on a warm summer afternoon or evening) and flying off to start new colonies, they lose their wings in a very short time.

but I can’t really put powder on ceiling

Liquid ant spray is available, which could be used on a ceiling . .

Impossible to say where the ants have come from but something may have attracted them? Something sweet, even wrapped, could do that, I know that Kendal Mint Cake does

I don't expect you'd have anything sweet on the ceiling . . . but anything in the room could do it, they can get thorough the tiniest crack. or even burrow through mortar and plaster etc.

another_casualty · 9 October 2017 at 1:31PM

Thanks s c

Doubt if there is anything sweet as I would have eaten it.

Tbh, there isn’t anything in there to attract them . I was wondering why they were on the ceiling of all places . They were just above the window . Not on the walls. I have sprayed raid around the room . Haven’t seen anything before or after.
Puzzled

Auntie-Dolly · 9 October 2017 at 2:14PM

Body under the floorboards of the upstairs flat...?

societys_child · 9 October 2017 at 2:19PM

Ahh, Kendal mint cake incident was the first thing that came to mind.

A little ant story:
About 18 yrs ago, picked up a tv remote, which was on a coffee table in the lounge, and an ant fell out. Removed the battery cover and there was about a dozen of 'em in there. A small hole in the clip holding the cover in place gave them access.
Now that was puzzling :huh:

Turned the coffee table over and there were a few under there . . waited and watched . . .
This was a completely renovated, re-decorated, new carpets . . everything in there was new. No Mint Cake or sweet stuff involved.

Eventually worked it out.
Had seen some ants outside on a flagged pathway under the lounge window. There was an intermediate flow of ants, up the wall, disappearing under the window sill.*

Inside:
They had dug their way through and were emerging under the inner window sill, behind the curtains, down the wall, under the carpet and making their way around the edge of the room in the gap left where the carpet was held by the gripper rods. Across under the wall, into the alcove, across the alcove, back out of the alcove, and part way across the front of the chimney breast. At this point they broke cover, across the carpet, up the table leg, onto the table top and were happily make home in my remote . . . :cool:
A long walk for 'em!

A spray of ant killer under the edge of the carpet, plus a bit of silicone to seal under the sills stopped the invasion.

*Ants leave a scent, which allows others to follow, and also allows them to find their way back.

tyllwyd · 9 October 2017 at 2:32PM

What did the ants look like - were they outdoor black ants or smaller light coloured ones?

Is there ivy or something similar growing on the outside wall?

another_casualty · 9 October 2017 at 2:44PM

tyllwyd wrote: »

What did the ants look like - were they outdoor black ants or smaller light coloured ones?

Is there ivy or something similar growing on the outside wall?

Very small black ones. There is are old plants that are trimmed by the managing agents outside the window . The flue from the boiler makes them always look half dead .
On the front of the property on the other side by my living room /bedroom there are plants that are cut a couple of times a year also

another_casualty · 9 October 2017 at 3:00PM

I just looked outside the bedroom window . There was a dead bee, loads of webs and general dust and dirt on the outside windowsill .
All now removed with floor wipes . No sign of anything in the flat .

tyllwyd · 10 October 2017 at 9:41AM

I was wondering if garden ants might have come up the plant and then found their way in through cracks in the wall into your house, which is how they ended up on the ceiling. It sounds as if that's not impossible.

Another option is Pharaoh Ants which I've never seen - it's unlikely to be those but if it was apparently you'd be best getting professional help to make sure you caught it quickly.

Why not get some sticky fly paper and stick it up there - that way if there are more coming in you'll see the evidence.

another_casualty · 10 October 2017 at 11:44AM

Well, since I reported the incident here and sprayed raid around, I haven’t seen any more . Hopefully I’ve been lucky . Very odd.

Slinky · 10 October 2017 at 12:09PM

societys_child wrote: »

Ahh, Kendal mint cake incident was the first thing that came to mind.

A little ant story:
About 18 yrs ago, picked up a tv remote, which was on a coffee table in the lounge, and an ant fell out. Removed the battery cover and there was about a dozen of 'em in there. A small hole in the clip holding the cover in place gave them access.
Now that was puzzling :huh:

Turned the coffee table over and there were a few under there . . waited and watched . . .
This was a completely renovated, re-decorated, new carpets . . everything in there was new. No Mint Cake or sweet stuff involved.

Eventually worked it out.
Had seen some ants outside on a flagged pathway under the lounge window. There was an intermediate flow of ants, up the wall, disappearing under the window sill.*

Inside:
They had dug their way through and were emerging under the inner window sill, behind the curtains, down the wall, under the carpet and making their way around the edge of the room in the gap left where the carpet was held by the gripper rods. Across under the wall, into the alcove, across the alcove, back out of the alcove, and part way across the front of the chimney breast. At this point they broke cover, across the carpet, up the table leg, onto the table top and were happily make home in my remote . . . :cool:
A long walk for 'em!

A spray of ant killer under the edge of the carpet, plus a bit of silicone to seal under the sills stopped the invasion.

*Ants leave a scent, which allows others to follow, and also allows them to find their way back.

Our new house we discovered a pile of sand in the lounge next to an external wall when we pulled the carpets up which suggests there may have been ants coming in in the past. We've cleared up and filled the gap under the skirting with silicone for a fair distance on either side. Hopefully that's sorted it. More worryingly there was a similar pile of sand on the other side of the room under a radiator which is on an internal wall in the house. It backs onto the kitchen, when we viewed there was an ant trap in the kitchen but no sign of any ants. I do hope it's historic and not an ongoing problem. The lounge carpet could have been down 40 years, the underlay disintegrated into powder when we tried to lift it.

Ant question ..

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