Ant control in Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth
Summer brings them into the kitchen and up through the paving, and by the time you phone somebody you’ve usually been fighting them for a week or two.
Baby powder, salt, the little traps from the shop. Those knock back the ants you can see, which is never the problem. Killing the ones you can see does nothing at all: the nest carries on producing and you’re back where you started by Thursday.
Bait that gets carried home is what actually ends it, and that takes a few days rather than an afternoon.
Don’t wipe the trail away
This is the hard part, because every instinct says otherwise.
While the bait is working, that trail is the road home and it is doing the job for us. Wipe it off and you have cut the bait off from the nest it was meant to reach.
What you’re looking at
Catching it early keeps it small. These are the three things that give it away.
- Trails. Lines of ants indoors, usually heading somewhere with food at the end of it. That is the clearest sign there is.
- Nests in hidden places. Under garden beds, under the stoep, inside wall cavities. You’ll see the trails going in and out, and loose soil around the exit holes.
- Piles of soil. Small heaps against the foundation or near holes in the wall mark the way in. There are often a lot of them around paving.
The three we see most here
- Black house ant (Lasius niger). After anything sweet, and usually found in the kitchen.
- Argentine ant (Linepithema humile). Highly invasive, and it forms colonies big enough that they don’t come right without proper treatment.
- Pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis). A problem anywhere food is prepared, and a serious one in hospitals.
Those are the three we deal with most. They are not the only ones, and the treatment changes depending on which you have, which is why identifying it comes first.
How we deal with it
- We inspect the property first. Finding the nests and working out how bad it is decides everything that comes after.
- Then we bait, spray or seal, depending. Bait is matched to the species we found. Chemical treatment goes into the places that matter rather than everywhere. And cracks and entry points get sealed, because an ant that can’t get in doesn’t need killing.
- Then we tell you how to keep them out. Food in sealed containers, and the obvious cleaning. Dull advice, but it is what stops it coming back.
Everyone and every pet needs to be out of the house for at least 90 minutes after we spray, and don’t wash the floors for a week afterwards. Vacuuming is fine. The rest of what to expect on the day is on the pest control page.
Questions we get asked
How do I know if I need someone in?
When you’ve tried the shop-bought things and they keep coming back. Those products generally alleviate an ant problem for a short while rather than ending it. If you are treating the same trail for the third time, the nest is still there.
Are the treatments safe?
Yes. We use products that are safe for your family, your pets and your property, applied by operators certified by AgriSeta. The 90 minutes out of the house is precaution, not alarm.
Will one treatment do it?
Often, yes. A follow-up comes two weeks later if it is needed, and we’ll tell you honestly whether yours needs one once we’ve seen it.
What it costs
Follow-ups come two weeks later if they’re needed.
| House | Inside and outside | Follow-up | One side only | Its follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 bedroom | R1 610 | R1 035 | R1 150 | R748 |
| 4 bedroom | R1 840 | R1 380 | R1 495 | R805 |
| 5 bedroom | R2 013 | R1 610 | R1 725 | R920 |
| 6 bedroom | R2 128 | R1 840 | R1 955 | R1 035 |
VAT included. Newton Park, Sydenham and Algoa Park are inside the Gqeberha price. Further out there’s a travel charge, and those are on the prices page.
Prices can change. We keep the site up to date as best we can, and the price we quote you before we start is the one you pay.
Tell us where they’re coming in
Tell us what you’re seeing and where. A photo of the trail helps more than you’d think.
Or phone 061 905 0514 if you’d rather talk to a person.