Concern that Ireland is in the grip of an ant infestation has more to do with our increasing hygiene awareness than any real threat, according to a Trinity College zoologist, Mr Martin Linnie.
Double-glazed conservatories and plush porches were proving too tempting for the red ant, Mr Linnie said, and the current cold snap was pure coincidence. "Since their nuptial flight at the beginning of the autumn they have been over-wintering, indeed hibernating. When the temperature rises it signals their biological clock which kicks in, and out they come."
While ants are outdoor creatures, normally nesting in soil, they choose a nesting place that best suits their needs, even if it conflicts with yours.
"Ants are not very good at generating warmth themselves so they pick a warm spot, normally under rocks that get the sun. Sometimes they will choose a warm wall at the back of a house, a wall cavity, or go under floorboards, and all they need is a very small crack to get in."
Mr Linnie countered claims that mild winters had caused a population explosion in the ant world, saying that "warm weather causes a general increase in insects, but it is also favourable to their predators, so there are greater numbers of birds and other animals around to prey on them".
He said ants carry out some very useful functions outdoors, "like controlling other insect populations and turning over the soil".
Once established indoors, ants continue their highly organised lives, apparently unperturbed by moving into the public eye. "Everything they do is organised and purposeful. They are nature's natural biological controllers. They prey on other insects and even recycle their own waste."
Although red ants do not carry disease and are not a health hazard, people do not welcome them indoors and try to kill them, Mr Linnie said, with boiling water, vinegar, even bleach. It rarely works. "There are some very good insecticides available which are a far cleaner and better way of killing them," he advised.
Job completed, Mr Linnie recommended sealing off the cracks and crevices through which they entered, preventing future mass migrations.
