Ant calls in Eltham peak after spring rain and again in the February heat, when the colonies under the mulched garden beds, the paving and the slab edge head for the kitchen tap and the dog bowl. The heavily mulched, treed gardens Eltham is built around are ideal ant country, and black ants and coastal browns nest in the mulch and under the sleeper edging right against the house. In the denser townhouse pockets near the station Argentine ants run as one connected colony across several properties.
We identify the species first because the baits differ, then place gel and granular baits that the workers carry back to the queens. Outside we treat the slab or subfloor edge, the paving joints, the garden borders and the mulch against the walls. Bigger infestations get a return check after a fortnight. We also point out the simple fixes, like keeping mulch a hand-width off the wall and fixing the dripping outdoor tap, because those are what stop it coming back next summer.
