Ants digging up dirt under pavers? Here's what to do...

Big headed ants (Coastal Brown ants) are a serious invasive ant and commonly nest under pavers

Ants inside the house can be a nuisance, but ants making a mess of your pavers can impact your property price. To deal with the problem you’ll need to call a pest professional, because supermarket products just don’t cut it!

When ants start to nest under pavers, they remove dirt as they excavate their nest chambers. As soon as you notice ants digging up dirt around your pavers it’s important to deal with it straight away. Not only does it look unattractive, but if their nest chambers become extensive they can start to undermine the pavers. This makes them unstable and there is often a significant cost to relay the pavers to remedy the problem.

Ants digging up dirt under pavers can make a costly mess!

A number of different ant species will nest under pavers, but one of the most common species is the coastal brown ant (Pheidole megacephala). This isn’t a native ant, it’s an invasive species that can quickly take over entire areas. One of the main reasons it can dominate is that they can develop massive colonies consisting of numerous nests and multiple queens – their collective egg production can be prolific.

One of the reasons to get in early with a treatment is that it gives your pest professional the opportunity to actually kill the whole nest and provide lasting protection. At Gold Coast Pest Services we can use a granular ant bait which the foraging ants take back to the nest and feed it to the rest of the colony. As a result the nest will be eliminated within 1-2 weeks.

If the infestation is more extensive, baits are still an option, but to get long lasting control it will often be necessary to used specialised ant sprays. These sprays are not available in supermarkets. They are the latest “non-repellent” sprays, which is what you need to get control of ant problems. Being non-repellent and slow acting, ants walking across a treated surface will transfer the insecticide to other nest mates before they die, magnifying the effect. By treating the affected area with a spray, it will not only eliminate the problem but will guard against re-infestation for many months.

The ant baits available in supermarkets do not target these ant species and the sprays available are “old fashioned” repellent sprays which do not kill the nests. We’ve heard many stories of homeowners having spent hundreds of dollars in trying to deal with their ant problems, with little success.

So if you are suffering from an ant infestation in your pavers, give Gold Coast Pest Services a call for fast elimination and guaranteed results. With treatments also available for lawn ants (green ants and funnel ants) and fire ants, Gold Coast Pest services can provide ant treatments to deal with any outdoor ant problem, allowing you to enjoy your outdoor areas and maintain your property value.