How Do You Know If You Have an Ant Infestation in Cambridge?
A few ants on a worktop is not an infestation. A trail is. Here is how to tell the difference, and what each sign is actually telling you.
Read the guide →Recurring Problems
Why Do Ants Keep Coming Back?
Ants returning is not usually bad luck. It is one of five things, and four of them are fixable in an afternoon.
“They keep coming back” is the most common thing people say when they ring about ants. It is almost always one of five specific causes rather than persistent bad luck, and knowing which one you have tells you what to do about it.
One: Only the Foragers Were Ever Killed
By a distance the commonest cause. A spray, a powder or a home remedy killed the ants on the worktop and never reached the colony. The queen carried on laying and replacement workers were back on the same route within days.
What it looks like: ants gone for two or three days, then back on the same line. Repeat as often as you like.
The fix: a treatment the workers carry home to the nest. That is what our ant control service does.
Two: The Trail Was Cleaned Away Mid-Treatment
This one catches out people who did everything else right. A treatment that relies on being carried back needs the ants to keep foraging along the route it was placed on.
Wiping the trails down, removing the food they were working on, or spraying over the top during the treatment period all interrupt the delivery. The colony survives, and the treatment looks as though it failed.
The counter-intuitive rule again: leave the trail alone until activity has stopped, then clean thoroughly. During treatment, a spotless worktop works against you.
Three: The Way In Was Never Closed
The colony is dealt with; the gap it was using is still there. Next season a different colony finds the same convenient route into the same warm building with the same food in it.
- The threshold of an external door, particularly where it has worn
- An airbrick
- Where a pipe or cable passes through a wall near ground level
- A crack in the pointing at ground level
- The junction where a patio or path meets the wall
The fix: seal them, after the treatment has finished. It is usually a small job and it is the single most effective preventative step there is.
Four: The Food Source Is Still There
Ants come in because something is worth coming in for, and it is nearly always smaller than people imagine.
- The crumb tray of a toaster
- A spill that ran into the gap between the plinth and the floor
- A sticky ring behind the kettle
- Wet pet food left down overnight
- An unrinsed jar or bottle in a recycling box kept indoors
- Sugar or honey in a folded-over packet rather than a sealed container
- The bin itself, rather than the bag in it
The fix: find it and deal with it — after treatment. A property with nothing worth foraging is a property ants stop bothering with.
Five: The Nest Is Somewhere Permanently Warm
Most garden ant colonies are outdoors and go quiet in winter. A colony that has established itself somewhere consistently warm inside the building does not.
- Behind or under an appliance
- In an airing cupboard
- Against a boiler or a heating run
- Under a floor near a warm service
What it looks like: activity that never really stops, including through the winter.
Year-round activity is also the flag for a different species. Small, pale ants active indoors in the middle of winter may be pharaoh ants, which do not live outdoors in this country. They need a baiting programme, and spraying them makes the problem spread rather than shrink. Our identification guide explains how to tell.
Working Out Which One You Have
| What you observe | Most likely cause |
|---|---|
| Gone for days after a spray, then back on the same line | One — only foragers killed |
| Returned during or just after a professional treatment | Two — trail disturbed, or a spray used over the top |
| Clear for a season, then back the following summer | Three or four — entry point or food source |
| Never really stops, including in winter | Five — nest somewhere warm, or a different species |
| Different room each time | Two or three — route disrupted, or several ways in |
And If It Was Our Treatment
Our ant control is £240 fixed price and guaranteed. If activity has not settled within the period we gave you, that is ours to put right — tell us rather than assuming it is normal. The cost guide sets out what the price covers, including the guarantee.
Ant Control Cambridge — £240
fixed price
, guaranteed, with no call-out fee.
See the full service →
Why Ants Keep Coming Back — Common Questions
Why do ants come back every summer?
Usually because the colony was never dealt with — only the foragers were — or because the gap they use to get in is still open and a new colony has found it.
They came back after a professional treatment. What now?
Tell us. Our ant treatment is guaranteed, and if activity has not settled within the period we gave you we would rather come back than have you assume that is normal.
Will sealing the gaps stop them?
It helps a great deal, but do it after treatment rather than before. Sealed out beforehand, the colony simply finds another route.
Do I need treating every year?
No. A colony that has been properly dealt with does not come back. What can happen is that a different colony finds the same attractive property, which is why the food source and the entry point matter.
Is there anything that guarantees no ants ever again?
No, and anyone promising that is overselling. A garden will always have ants in it. The aim is that they stay out of the building.
Get a Quote for Ant Control
Tell us what you have found and where. We confirm the treatment and the price before anything is booked.
More Ant Control Advice
How to Get Rid of Ants in Your Cambridge Home
The honest version: you cannot solve this by killing the ants you can see, and most of what is sold for the job makes it harder rather than easier.
Read the guide →Ant Identification Cambridge: What Type of Ants Are in My Home?
Almost always the black garden ant. But there is one species where getting it wrong and reaching for a spray turns a single problem into several.
Read the guide →How Much Does Ant Control Cost in Cambridge?
£240 Fixed Price
What the price covers, what changes it, and what happens on the day.
Read the price guide →Ant Control Across Cambridgeshire
We cover Cambridge and the surrounding towns. The main Ant Control Cambridge page covers the service in full.
Need Ant Control in Cambridge?
Tell us what you have seen and where, and we will give you the treatment and the price before we book anything.