View report page

100
Of other pests which necessitated the treatment of 1,168 rooms
and 178 external areas, the following initiated the greater number
of complaints.
Ants. Ants carry no disease but their presence in human foodstuffs
is objectionable.
Foods of a relatively high sugar content are particularly attractive
to ants and the insects are prepared to go to great lengths in
order to obtain a sufficiency for their community.
In the main, the 104 complaints received and the further
4 cases found on survey concerned either the black garden ant
(Lasius niger) or the yellow meadow ant (L. flavis), the workers
of which will gain access to houses through cracks in the walls or
floors, over sills or through window frames in search of food and
108 treatments involving 100 rooms and 56 external areas were
carried out to combat the reported nuisances.
One of the commonest of ants, the very small red House or
Pharoah's ant (Monomorium pharaonis) was also the cause of a
number of complaints.
This species, being of tropical origin, is incapable of breeding
in England without artificial heat. A temperature of approximately
80°F is considered to be ideal for its propagation and ipso facto it
is found infesting bakehouses, restaurants, hospitals and houses
especially in larders and kitchens and nests may be found behind
wall plasters, behind pipes or ovens, in heating ducts and under
floor coverings and foundations.
As in previous years this pest was encountered at two of the
large hospitals in the Borough where, despite intensive investigation
the sources of infestation were not located.
The total number of treatments carried out in respect of this
ant was 46, an increase of 12 over the previous year.
Although the treatments which involved 152 rooms effected
a reasonable measure of success, it must be stated that complete
control can be achieved only by the destruction of the colonies, for
once ants become established in a building, complete elimination
is extremely difficult. Locating each individual nest, especially in
old buildings, is not only extremely difficult but commercially impractical.
As usual, prevention offers the best solution to the
problem namely,
(a) to block or obstruct the entry of the ant,
(b) to keep premises clear and free from crumbs and scraps
of food,
(c) to seal holes and cracks through which ants could enter and
(d) to use an effective insecticide, preferably of a residual
nature.