Ant Control

WARNING: AEROSOL SPRAYS CAUSE ANTS TO SCATTER AND BUILD A NEW NEST. 

Below you will find information about:

• Common ants found in New Zealand, and where they are commonly found.
• Our inspection and treatment methods, including cost.
• Health and safety precautions when we are carrying out treatment at your property.
• How to prevent future infestations.

Common Ants Found in New Zealand Homes
Ants may enter your house foraging for food, water, or seeking shelter through the smallest openings. They are in search of either sweet-based foods or protein/grease based foods. Below are the most common ants found in New Zealand homes.

Argentine Ant - Linepithema Humile
Light to dark honey brown in colour and 2-3 mm long, Argentine Ants trail many ants wide like a 'motorway' and do not have a typical ant smell when squashed. Argentine Ants can have up to six nests per square meter. 

​Darwin Ant - Doleromyrma Darwiniana
Dark brown in colour and 2-3 mm long, the Darwin Ant have single file trails and have a pungent smell when squashed. 

White Footed Ant - Technomyrmex Jocosus
White Footed Ants look similar to Argentine and Darwin Ants to the naked eye, but can be identified by the pale ends to their legs.

Pharaoh's Ant - Monomorium Pharaonis
Pharaoh’s Ants can be identified by their light yellow bodies and red-black markings on their abdomens. They are just 2 mm long and love sweet foods, so they are commonly found in food service areas.

Prices
Prices start from $99+GST. Additional costs may apply depending on the type of treatment, the level of infestation, problem areas, and expected warranty. Every place is different - we may treat your property once and you may have very successful results, or you might need ongoing maintenance for heavy infestations. This is why inspection prior to treatment is so important. so please call to discuss levels of infestation and size of property.

If you have a heavy infestation, or require ongoing maintenance to prevent future ant infestations, consider our family package deals. We can also design a program specifically for your property to suit the severity of infestation on your and your neighbouring properties. Persistence, patience, and prevention is the key for effective, ongoing ant control.

Inspection
Inspection is an important first step to identifying your ant problem, and how best to eradicate it. To find ant nests we use lures, and follow their trails both inside and outside your property. Following ant trails is the easiest way to locate ant nests as they return to these after visiting the food source. Ants typically can be found trailing to and from damaged wood inside the house, or in woodpiles, rotted or water-damaged wood, and tree stumps outside the house. 

Inside your property we inspect carpet edges, doors, windows, and kitchen areas including the ceiling. We also inspect sub-floor and basement areas as ant trails can lead to these areas.

There are some ants that don't just enter and exit your home foraging for food, but actually establish a colony inside, which occurs year-round. In these cases, ant baits are a very successful method of controlling ants as a spot treatment in the form of spray, gel, or liquid bait in stations in problem areas. The active ingredients in these baits may be sugar-based or protein/grease-based, to lure a variety of ant species using their dietary needs.

Outside your property we inspect around foundation walls and areas of vegetation and mulch. Typically ant nests and trails are found in vegetation near your property’s exterior walls, windows, and near decks and patio areas. We also check under items such as pot plants which are on the ground near the exterior walls and vegetation and mulch areas, as some ant nests are well hidden. Ants can fit in almost any area due to their small (2-3 mm) size. 

Ants that live outside will travel inside your home to search for food, which is why we caulk and seal cracks and crevices to eliminate passages into the home. Since ants are extremely industrious in finding entry points, we may not be able to seal them all, so we also spray bait around the perimeter targeting external entry points. We also may sprinkle granules onto soil and gravel surfaces where ant trails are identified which we then water to ensure the insecticide is directed deep into the soil, forming a curtain barrier. 

Treatment
Spraying ants with a typical aerosol ant repellent spray will only kill the ants you target, so your problem will continue as more ants will come from the nest, and no targeted ants are able to return to the nest to infect the entire colony. Non-repellent bait spray treatments are superior to repellent or residual spray treatments which is why this is our preferred, and used, method - however, our ant control strategy will also depend on the type of ant and the type and size of infestation. 

Ants are social insects which live in colonies, headed by a ‘Queen’, so our treatment plans include locating and eradicating the entire colony at the nest, where possible, and also targeting ant trails. We eradicate using non-repellent bait sprays as these are not detectable nor avoidable by ants, therefore if any ants are not in the nest when we target it, or if we cannot locate the nest, these ants carry the bait back to the nest and infect and kill the colony, including the Queen, from within. 

Treatment Health & Safety Precautions
Our chosen treatment methods are safe to use, however, there are precautions you must take during treatment to ensure your and your family’s health and safety.

Exterior Spray Treatments
Exterior bait spray treatments do not require vacation of the property during treatment, nor a ‘stand down’ period to return to the property following treatment.

Interior Spray Treatments
Our technician(s) will advise if the premise needs to be vacated during treatment, and if a ‘stand down’ period to return to the property applies, usually up to 3-hours following treatment. 

Interior Bait Treatments
Baits will be laid discreetly as gel spots or liquid in bait stations around the property where ant trails are found. 

Prevention
To prevent future ant infestations:

• Trim all trees and bushes so branches do not touch the house.
• Correct moisture problems such as leaky roofs and plumbing.
• Allow for adequate ventilation in ceiling and basement areas.
• Paint and/or seal exposed wood construction before it becomes wet.
• Replace rotted, water-damaged, and previously ant-infested wooden parts of the structure.
• Eliminate wood/soil contacts.
• Remove dead tree stumps from the property.
• Store firewood off the ground.
• Move items such as pot plants away from exterior walls.