The most common ant
The Black Ant is the one most often found in gardens, either living in nests they build in the lawn, under patio slabs or sheds. Unfortunately, they’re just as happy building a nest under properties where they often find a route into the building. Usually the most troublesome on one or two warm, humid days in summer when the emerging queens have hatched and all leave the nest to mate. Dealing with Blank ants is usually a two-fold process; firstly, we place bait stations in strategic locations that allow the workers to transfer a chemical to the nest. This is designed to eradicate the colony. We will often create barriers with a liquid or dust- based insecticide to prevent the ants from roaming in to sensitive areas while the bait does its work.
The Brown ant
Brown ants are less common but very destructive none the less. They build nests in timber, eating their way through the softer wood, creating tracks along the grain. This generally goes unnoticed until the problem is exposed by building work or a noticeable pile of sawdust-like material starts to build up at the bottom of wood structures (door frames are typical). Exposing the timber can reveal an extensive set of tracks, as this image shows 
When the damage reaches the kind of level seen here, the problem may well need the help of a structural engineer as well as a pest controller. In such cases, the usual process is to strip back as much material as required to establish the extent of the damage and then treat the woodwork to eliminate the problem and prevent a re-occurrence.