Ants are probably the most common summer callout we get across the Illawarra, and the most misunderstood. People reach for the fly spray, knock down the trail on the bench, and feel like they've won — right up until the line reappears a day later, often somewhere new.
Here's the thing: the ants you see are foragers, a tiny slice of a colony that can run into the tens of thousands, usually nested in a wall cavity, under the slab, or out in the garden. Spray the trail and you've done nothing to the nest. Worse, some species respond to being sprayed by "budding" — splitting into new colonies. So the can from the supermarket can genuinely make an ant problem bigger.
The ants we see around here
- Black house ants — the classic kitchen-bench invaders, following sugar and grease indoors.
- Coastal brown ants — they pile little mounds of dirt between pavers and along edges, common right across the coast.
- White-footed ants — huge colonies, notoriously hard to shift with DIY.
- Bull ants and jumper ants — the big, aggressive ones nesting in the yard, with a sting nobody enjoys.
How we actually get rid of them
We identify the species first, because the right bait depends on it. Then we use a combination of gel and granular baits that the foragers carry back and feed to the colony, along with a targeted treatment to entry points, trails and nesting areas. The colony gets dealt with from the inside out — which is why the result holds, rather than bouncing back in a week.
For outdoor nests, we treat the nest directly and set up a barrier around the home so the next wave can't simply march back in.
Keeping them out
Once they're gone, the basics help a lot: wipe up spills and crumbs, keep the sugar and honey sealed, fix dripping taps, and keep mulch and garden beds from sitting right against the house. But if a colony has already moved in, baiting beats wiping every time. Give us a call and we'll sort it properly.
Common questions
- Why do the ants come back after I spray them?
- Spraying the trail kills the ants you can see and triggers the colony to split and find new routes — sometimes making it worse. We use baits and treatments that the workers carry back to the nest, so the colony itself is dealt with.
- Are ant treatments safe indoors around food areas?
- Yes. We use gel baits and targeted products placed precisely where ants travel and harbour, not sprayed across food-prep surfaces. We'll always point out anything to keep clear of while it dries.
- What kinds of ants do you treat?
- All the common Illawarra culprits — black house ants, coastal brown ants, white-footed ants and the big bull ants in the yard. Different ants need different baits, which is part of why DIY so often fails.