Professional Ant Control in Kent
Ants in a Kent property are treated by GEM Services with a 4-stage process: trail tracking and nest location, bait treatment, residual spray for severe infestations, proofing advice. Bait treatment takes 1-2 weeks to eliminate the colony as workers gradually carry poison back to the nest. Treatment is carried out by a technician from a BPCA member company and quoted before anyone visits, and callouts peak in spring and summer.
What you are dealing with: ants
Species we most often treat in Kent: Lasius niger (black garden ant) / Monomorium pharaonis (pharaoh ant)
A black garden ant colony can hold many thousands of workers, all daughters of a single queen, and that queen can live for several years. The colony produces winged males and females in summer for mating flights (known as "flying ant day"). Pharaoh ants are a tropical species that survives in heated buildings in the UK and has multiple queens per colony.
Ants follow chemical scent trails between the nest and food sources. When a scout finds food, she lays a pheromone trail that guides the rest of the colony to it. This is why you see long lines of ants heading to a specific spot. They are persistent and will find new routes if you block the existing one.
Garden ants eat sugary foods, honeydew from aphids, and protein sources. They nest in soil, under paving slabs, in wall cavities, and in the foundations of buildings. Pharaoh ants need constant warmth and nest inside heated buildings: in wall voids, behind tiles, and near hot water pipes.
Where we usually find ants on a property
- ✓Under paving slabs and patios near the house
- ✓In soil against foundations
- ✓Inside wall cavities
- ✓Under kitchen floor tiles
- ✓In gardens near the building perimeter
- ✓Pharaoh ants: in heated internal wall voids near hot water pipes
Ant treatment at a glance
| Pest treated | Ants (Lasius niger (black garden ant) / Monomorium pharaonis (pharaoh ant)) |
|---|---|
| Peak season | Spring and Summer |
| How long it takes | Bait treatment takes 1-2 weeks to eliminate the colony as workers gradually carry poison back to the nest. Spray treatments provide faster knockdown for severe cases. |
| Visits usually needed | 4-stage process, carried out over one or more visits depending on how far the problem has spread |
| How urgent | Not urgent. Worth booking alongside other work rather than on its own. |
| Response | Ant problems are not emergencies but are best treated promptly before the colony grows. We typically schedule visits within a week. |
| Area covered | All of Kent, from our base in Ashford |
| Safety | Carried out by a technician from a BPCA member company, fully insured. We tell you which areas to keep children and pets out of, and for how long, before we start. |
| What it costs | Quoted before anyone visits, once we know three things: the pest, the size of the property, and how far the infestation has spread. Call 07400 372204 for a free, no-obligation quote. |
Signs you have ants
Catching the problem early decides how much of it there is to treat. These are what we look for on arrival, and what is worth checking before you call.
Lines of ants trailing across floors or worktops
Ants follow pheromone trails in orderly lines between their nest and a food source. Trails often lead to kitchen areas, pet bowls, or sugar-rich foods.
Small piles of fine soil around cracks
Ants excavate soil as they extend their nest, pushing it out through gaps in paving, walls, or between floor tiles. Small mounds of sandy soil near the house indicate a nearby nest.
Flying ants emerging indoors
Winged ants emerging inside the house, especially from a crack in a wall or floor, confirm that a nest is located within the building fabric, not just visiting from the garden.
Ants swarming around food sources
Finding clusters of ants around a spilled drink, fruit bowl, or open food container in the kitchen. They appear quickly once a scout has found the source.
How we treat ants, step by step
Every job follows this sequence. What changes between properties is how long each stage takes, not the order.
- 1
Trail tracking and nest location
We follow ant trails back to locate the nest. The nest may be under the property, in wall cavities, or in the garden near the building. Knowing the nest location is key to effective treatment.
- 2
Bait treatment
We place professional ant bait gel along active trails. Worker ants carry the bait back to the nest and feed it to the queen and larvae, collapsing the entire colony from within. This is far more effective than killing individual ants with spray.
- 3
Residual spray for severe infestations
For heavy infestations or where bait alone is insufficient, we apply a residual insecticidal spray to entry points, trails, and nest entrances.
- 4
Proofing advice
We advise on sealing entry points to prevent future ant invasions: gaps in door frames, where pipes enter the building, and cracks in external walls.
How long it takesBait treatment takes 1-2 weeks to eliminate the colony as workers gradually carry poison back to the nest. Spray treatments provide faster knockdown for severe cases.
What ants cost you if they are left
Ants in the kitchen are a persistent nuisance, contaminating food and surfaces. Large numbers are distressing, particularly when they swarm. Ants nesting in wall cavities can damage mortar and wiring insulation over time.
Ants in food businesses contaminate stock and preparation areas. Pharaoh ants in hospitals are a serious infection control risk as they can carry pathogens between wards. Any visible ant activity in customer-facing environments damages perception.
Health risks
- ⚠Garden ants are primarily a nuisance rather than a health risk
- ⚠Pharaoh ants can carry harmful bacteria including salmonella and streptococcus
- ⚠Food contamination from ants trailing across kitchen surfaces
Damage to the property
- ⚠Minor mortar damage from ants nesting in walls
- ⚠Soil displacement under paving slabs causing subsidence
- ⚠Contamination of food stores
When ant problems peak in Kent
Ant activity indoors peaks from March to September as colonies wake from winter dormancy and forage intensively. Flying ant swarms occur on humid days in July-August. Pharaoh ants are active year-round in heated buildings.
Keeping ants out after treatment
Treatment clears what is there now. These are what stop it coming back, and they are worth doing whether or not you use us.
- ✓Wipe up sugary spills immediately. Ants can detect sugar from a considerable distance.
- ✓Store sweet foods (jam, honey, sugar) in sealed containers.
- ✓Seal gaps around doors, windows, pipes, and where the wall meets the floor.
- ✓Clear away pet food bowls after feeding rather than leaving them out.
- ✓Address aphid infestations on garden plants near the house. Ants farm aphids for honeydew and their presence attracts ant colonies closer to the building.
When you do not need us
A single ant sighting outdoors, away from the building and with none of the signs above, is usually not an infestation and does not need a treatment. Work through the prevention points first and see whether the activity continues.
Call us when the signs are repeating rather than one-off, when you find them indoors, or when you have tried proofing and the activity has continued.
We also do not carry out structural repairs. We seal and proof the entry points we find, but where the fabric of the building needs rebuilding, that is a builder’s job and we will say so.
Ant Control across Kent
We provide rapid ant control response across Kent. Find your local area below.
Ants treatment: common questions
Why do ants keep coming back after I spray them?
Killing the ants you can see does nothing to the thousands in the nest. The queen continues laying eggs and the colony replaces its losses within days. Bait treatment is the only way to destroy the colony: workers carry the bait back and it kills the queen.
What are flying ants?
Flying ants are the reproductive males and females produced by the colony for mating. They swarm on warm, humid days in summer. Flying ants inside your house confirm a nest in or very near the building.
Are pharaoh ants different from garden ants?
Yes. Pharaoh ants are tiny (2mm), pale yellow, and live exclusively in heated buildings. They have multiple queens per colony, which makes them much harder to treat. Standard ant sprays actually make pharaoh ant problems worse by causing the colony to split. They require specialist bait treatment.
Can ants damage my house?
Garden ants rarely cause structural damage, but large colonies nesting in wall cavities can erode mortar over time. The main issue is nuisance and food contamination rather than structural harm.
Do boiling water or vinegar home remedies work?
Pouring boiling water on an ant nest kills some workers but rarely reaches the queen deep underground. The colony recovers quickly. Vinegar disrupts scent trails temporarily but does not eliminate the nest. Professional bait treatment is the reliable solution.
Book ant control in Kent
Ants problems do not resolve on their own, and the longer an infestation runs the more of the property it reaches. A treatment booked this week costs less and takes fewer visits than the same problem left until next month.
Ant problems are not emergencies but are best treated promptly before the colony grows. We typically schedule visits within a week.
Bait treatment takes 1-2 weeks to eliminate the colony as workers gradually carry poison back to the nest. Spray treatments provide faster knockdown for severe cases.
We cover the whole of Kent from our base in Ashford. Treatments are carried out by a technician from a BPCA member company, and we are fully insured.
The next step is a phone call.
Tell us what you have seen and where. We will tell you what treating it involves and what it will cost, before anyone visits.
Call 07400 372204Cannot talk right now? Send us the details instead and we will call you back.