Reminder to Gedling borough residents as ants take flight for mating season

Gedling borough residents are being warned ants will take wing to mate for a short period of time in July or August – known as flying ant season.

Young queens will emerge from the nest and take flight in a bid to mate with males from other colonies.

Niall Gallagher, Technical Manager at BPCA said: “It’s not entirely true that ants only fly for one day each year, but the mating season does tend to be just a few days in July or August.

“Mating takes place in the air during the swarming nuptial flight, but the ants will disappear within a few hours and are best left alone.” 

Male ants will die shortly after mating, while the queens will chew off their wings and find a nest site where she will stay for the winter.

Niall added: “Flying ant season isn’t necessarily a cause for concern. However, if you have ants in your garden or near to your home, it is sensible to keep a close eye on them and make sure they don’t make their way indoors.

“They are highly organised social insects that are attracted to sweet foodstuffs and may invade buildings in search of food.

“The most common ant in the UK is the black garden ant (Lasius niger). But in large centrally heated buildings such as apartment blocks, tropical species such as Pharaoh’s ants and Ghost ants can become a problem and should always be dealt with by a BPCA member as they’re much more difficult to control.”

BPCA members are trained, experienced professionals with access to a range of specialist products not available to the public.

They are trained, qualified and regularly assessed to the British Standard in Pest Management BS EN 16636.

BPCA members are also endorsed by the Government via the TrustMark quality scheme.

To find a BPCA member, visit: bpca.org.uk/find.