What Actually Gets Used
Ant treatment in a home is usually one or both of two things. The first is a gel bait: a small bead of sweet gel containing an insecticide, placed into a crack, behind a plinth or under an appliance where ants are travelling. The second is a residual insecticide applied outside at the nest, along the foot of the wall and at the points where ants get in.
Neither is sprayed across floors, worktops or play areas. The point of bait is that ants find it and carry it home, so it goes where the ants are and where hands and paws are not. A residual treatment goes at the nest and the entry routes, which are mostly outdoors.
The one rule: children and pets stay off treated areas until they are dry, and for as long as we tell you on the day. That instruction is specific to what was used and where, so follow it rather than a general rule of thumb.
Tell Us at Booking, Not on the Doorstep
The plan for a house with a crawling baby is different from the plan for a house with nobody under forty, and it is much easier to set it properly before we arrive. When you ring, please mention:
- babies and young children, and which rooms they use;
- dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs or anything else that roams the house or garden;
- fish tanks and ponds, and where they are;
- anyone with asthma, a long-term condition, pregnancy or anyone otherwise vulnerable;
- whether a garden is used for play, and where.
None of this usually stops a treatment. It changes where things are placed, which areas are treated at all and what you are asked to do for the next few days.
The Days After Treatment
Expect to see ants for a few days. The workers are collecting bait and taking it back to the colony, and that is how it reaches the queen. This is the part families find hardest, because the instinct is to wipe down every surface an ant touches.
- Do not clean, spray or mop over bait points or treated areas for the period you are given.
- Keep pet bowls and children’s snacks away from any bait points, and do not move the bait.
- Keep the garden gate or back door routine as normal, but keep animals off treated wall bases and patio joints until dry.
- Store sugary food sealed so the bait is the most attractive thing on offer.
How the method works from start to finish is explained in how professional ant treatment works.
If Something Goes Wrong
If a pet eats something it should not have, ring your vet and have the details we left you to hand. If a person is affected, speak to a pharmacist or GP. Ants themselves are a separate question: garden ants may nip and red ants can sting mildly, and if anyone shows signs of a severe allergic reaction to a sting, call 999. That side of it is in are ants harmful to pets and children, and our wider advice on treatments around children and pets covers other pests too.
Price and Booking
Ant control in Wokingham is a fixed £240, and we confirm it with you before anything is booked. At the same time we explain what the treatment involves in your house, including where bait will go and which areas to keep everyone off.