Advice
Ants in the Kitchen: Causes and What Helps
Ants in the kitchen are usually following food and warmth, and a few careful habits can reduce them, though a persistent trail often needs professional treatment.
Read the guide →We cover homes, cafes, shops and rural properties around Totnes and the wider TQ9 postcode area. Tell us what you are seeing and where, and we will talk you through what is likely to be going on and how we would tackle it.
Why older town buildings suit ants
Totnes has a historic centre full of older buildings, and that matters for ants. Soft old mortar, gaps around window frames, cracked pointing and thick walls all give small insects a way in and somewhere warm to settle. Ants often nest in a wall cavity or under a floor and only show themselves when they go looking for food, which can make the source hard to spot.
In shops and cafes the draw is usually sugar, crumbs and sticky spills. A single scout finds a source, leaves a scent trail and the rest follow. If you see a line of ants running along a skirting board or out from a gap by a door, that line is a useful clue, and we follow it carefully to see exactly where it leads, which saves guesswork and wasted treatment.
What we do when we visit
First we look. We check where you have seen ants, follow the trail outside if we can, and look at patios, paving, lawn edges and the base of walls, where black garden ants like to nest. Once we know the likely source, we use a targeted treatment placed where the ants will carry it back to the colony themselves, so the nest is dealt with and not just the workers you can see in Totnes kitchens.
We then look at how they are getting in. Sealing small entry points, tidying the areas where food is left out and advising on pet food bowls all make a return visit from the ants less likely. We will be straight with you if a nest is out of reach or if a second visit might be needed to finish the job properly, so you know what to expect.
Keeping ants out around Totnes
A few habits make a real difference. Keep sweet food, jam, honey and pet food in sealed containers, wipe worktops after use and take rubbish out regularly. Please leave the trails alone until we have looked, as scattering them can send ants into new parts of the building. In Totnes we also cover Dartmouth and Longcombe, so if you are close by, we can usually reach you without any trouble at all.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I get ants in my Totnes kitchen every summer?
Warm weather makes colonies active, and a kitchen offers easy food. If a nest sits under paving or inside a wall close by, ants will keep returning each year. Treating the nest itself and sealing the entry points is what finally breaks the pattern, and we can show you where they are getting in.
Are flying ants in Totnes a different problem?
Flying ants are usually the same ants you see on the patio, just the winged males and queens leaving a nest on a warm day. It often means a mature colony is somewhere nearby, so it is worth having the area looked at before they settle.
Can you treat ants in a shop or cafe in the town centre?
Yes. We keep treatments away from food preparation areas and surfaces, and we give practical advice on storage and cleaning so the ants have less reason to come back. We will explain exactly what we are doing and where before we start.