Pharoah's ants
What do they look like?
Pharaoh's ants are very small and pale coloured.
How do you spot them?
Nests are found in cracks near to central heating boilers, hot water tanks and ovens. Hospitals and bakeries are the most common premises affected. They are unable to breed outdoors as they need temperatures of at least 18ºC (65ºF) to flourish.
How do they affect me?
They can crawl into sterile packets in hospitals or into food preparation areas and spread germs.
How long do they live?
In a typical nest, 50,000 Worker ants will travel along well-defined trails to collect food and water to take back to the nest. There it is used to feed up to 400 egg laying queens and 100,000 young immature stages. There are often several different nests in infested premises.
Colonies spread to new sites by small groups of workers carrying some brood away from the nest. A temporary resting place such as a pile of laundry or cardboard box may be transported to another building and thus start up a new infestation.
How do you control them?
It is very difficult to completely eliminate an infestation using ordinary insecticides. It is essential to get enough poison into the actual colony to destroy the queens and brood, not just kill workers on their travels. It is also vital that all of the colonies in the block are dealt with at the same time or the problem will recur within a few months.
If you think you may have a Pharoah's Ant infestation, contact us on 01922 744320. There may be a charge for treatment of ants, however advice is free.
Contact us
Public Protection Services
Public Health Team
Challenge Building
Hatherton Road
Walsall
WS1 1DJ
Telephone 01922 652210
Email publichealthteam@walsall.gov.uk