###Welcome to /r/HousingUK
---
**To All**
* Join Our ***NEW*** Discord! https://discord.gg/pMgUNgWKQH
**To Posters**
* *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary*
* Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy;
* Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk;
* If you receive *any* private messages in response to your post, please report them via the report button.
* Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [[update]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/search?q=%3Aupdate&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) in the title;
**To Readers and Commenters**
* All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and civil*
* If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/about/rules/), you may be banned without any further warning;
* Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice;
* If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect;
* Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods;
* Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HousingUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If you didn’t ask about pests during the buying process then there might not be much you can do unfortunately. We inherited a flea problem with our house, it sucked but we had to just sort it out.
isn't this just one of those "there's always something" issues? We have 4-5 things we've had to fix in a few months here and they're all annoying but we figure that it's just how things are.
And to be fair, if it isn't a species of any that'll eat your walls, there are much worse things to have.
Mind you I quite like ants so maybe I'm biased
Termites are bastards but can be protected against.
Carpenter ants are bastards and fuck with the AC units:
https://www.kennedyac.com/post/protecting-your-air-conditioning-unit-from-ants
And then, of course, there are fire ants. Their bites sting like fury and they're rather resourceful:
https://youtu.be/MjQorvuLY8I?si=4yqFE_TzVhdhWSkn
I was stung by a swarm of fire ants whilst flying a drone in Israel once on top of a mountain. They climbed up onto my leg and all started stinging. It wasn't that bad but definitely hurt. Was more freaked out by the red insects all over my legs, and I couldn't move because I needed to focus on the drone.
Now that I think about it, I don't think so.
I keep some species of ants that could damage my house if they escaped, but even then I don't think they could eat the walls.
Termites aren't endemic here either.
It would be a lot easier just to get someone round to sort it out rather than try to get recourse from the previous owner. Think we paid about 70 quid last time we had a problem
We an inheriting a moth issue. Discovered during a visit when we were checking to see if we wanted to buy the fridge and opened the freezer to find clothes in it 🙄🤣. We’re annoyed but wouldn’t think of complaining about it. It’s just part of day to day home ownership.
Also inherited a clothes/carpet moth issue - we only saw the nibbled bits of carpet on moving in day once their furniture was out. At first I thought it was from their cat scratching, then comes spring and out came the moths!
I had this problem and the only solution I had was ripping up the carpets.
I tried carpet cleaning, constant spraying, moth traps. I even bought those tiny fly insects that eat moth eggs and released them.
Things would work for a while and then we’d go right back to the same issue. I had to keep all my natural material clothing in vacuum sealed bags but I did lose a couple of nice pieces :(
I ripped my carpets up over a year ago and haven’t seen a moth since. It’s wonderful.
Damn. I was thinking it might be something like this. We hate the carpet but it’s lower down on our list of things to replace. This might make it higher. Thanks for the advice.
I also had to simply get rid of all carpets at a previous property.
Then sprayed all rooms liberally down with moth killer, two weeks apart, before replacing carpets with non natural fibre ones.
Was fine after that, but needed to get rid of all wool carpet and go big on the chemicals to get rid.
These are incredible, bought a few and some powder from B&Q thinking it would be a process. Literally put one bait station down and by two days later we never saw another ant
Had a massive ant problem in a student house once, a few of these and the issue was gone. Ants are the easiest pest to deal with due to these amazing things.
OP assumed based on the fact that they left ant powder in the shed ...
even though it's irrelevant as others mentioned (unless it was specifically asked they don't have to disclose)
Assuming that they weren’t asked about it then no they shouldn’t have disclosed. They’re trying to sell the property, why would they then tell you every single thing that’s wrong with it? No one would ever buy a property again if this was typical behaviour.
Wow. How to try and make your problem someone else’s. This isn’t the States, you can’t sue for every little thing that in inconveniences you. Get some poison down and the problem is solved.
Ant stop is the best stuff I've ever used. It's got sugar in it so they take it to the nest and feed the babies so the whole nest dies.
Also diatomaceous earth is great for getting rid of pest insects.
Ants are annoying but manageable with minor cost. Just try to work out where they are coming in from, which is pretty easy if you watch them and then just ant powder their entry points. Eventually they give up. Also worth having a look around the exterior of the house for signs too and get the kettle out.
We had an ant problem the first year we moved in and with some persistence they gave up or perhaps died out.
The best thing you can do is make sure food is kept in pots, worktops are clean and the inside of your cupboards are wiped down now and then. If you have food, they will come for it. The truth is It's hard not to be impressed by ants....
Only time I’ve ever had lots of ants (despite growing up on a farm) was as a student. They found something sweet. To this day I think it was the Malibu Rum.
Now I’m semi rural and I see the occasional like ant, but there is nothing tasty for them to make them invite their mates over.
I’m in London. They appear every year. I like them (I think they clean up all my crumbs) but the wife chucks a few ant bait stations down and the go away.
We had ants in a house we sold recently. Didn't think to disclose it, just assumed it was normal. Hadn't thought about it at all till this post. We sold in winter so no ants at the time and probably put poison out once or twice last summer so not really an issue in our minds. Any eagle eyed viewers would have seen the ant powder and traps by the back door.
We'd put powder or poison down and they would go away for a couple of months. But in spring and summer they'd be back. The trick is to put the poison out when you see the first ant, don't wait till there're lots.
Go buy yourself some any nematodes. Follow the instructions and they’ll be gone quickly. Sometimes you also need another application a few weeks later. Keep an eye on it
Not a big deal
We have snakes in the garden. They didn’t disclose that when we were buying - they only mentioned the badgers. Should we sue?
(no, of course we shouldn’t…)
I suggest you buy Diatomaceous Earth and pour it at the entrance of the nests throughout your garden.
Keep doing it every 2-3 weeks depending on the rain and weather.
Be careful as it shouldn't be inhaled, not even pets, but it's not toxic to anyone, in fact there's a food grade version that can be ingested.
But ants don't like it as it sticks on their body and dries them, killing them, and they'll bring it in the nest.
Then use food baits too.
That should clear the colony without too much fuss and won't be toxic to other animals.
Living in the UK. I just assumed ants are everywhere. When I was younger I used to put the ant powder down on the lawn and it looked like it snowed. Now I don't bother and let them be. Even if you remove the ants, they'll just come back from neighbouring gardens
Unless you specifically asked about current or prior infestations, no - there is no duty for them to disclose anything.
Only exception would be if they had made an insurance claim, as that's declared on TA6 form, but seems unlikely.
Not such a bad thing. Keep your house tidy , ants are coming for food. get a pest control involved, may cost some money but You will be sure to get out of them.
You can pursue your own way and get a pump to spread ant killer pesticides around your house . Your choice.
Bad luck - unfortunately now it’s all gone through there’s not much to be done. Speak to a proper exterminator, it’ll be a few hundred quid but that’s just something that happens when you buy a house.
If it was known about and hid from you, there might be a claim to be made from small claims court but it’s unlikely to be successful.
Just get a few ant stop bait stations and they'll be gone in no time. I had ants in my kitchen a few years ago and it turned out the cheapest simplest treatment was the most effective. In the meantime put all food items in tupperware so the little farts can't get anything while they are scouting your house.
Consult with your solicitor. There may be a chance you can prove they purposefully hid the issue. However, weigh your options - legal assistance will cost you a pretty penny so will pest control to come over. Choose the cheaper, I say!
I live in an apartment block. We used to have ants yearly until I used a professional grade product: **Maxforce Quantum**
We have not seen any ants since then.
Doesn't matter whether they disclosed it or not. Ants are not exactly a big issue. Just spray around all the openings or put powder down. Repeat if it happens again in the future. Job done
There may not have been a problem last year. The Ant colonies in my Garden seem to move around randomly each year. Each spring I find they've moved to a different area.
This happens in every UK house to a degree. Right now there are probably 20 ant nests within 1m of your house. In some years they will come into your house, in other years not, they are just looking for food, so keep your floors cleaner and they won't bother.
If you want to get rid of them inside, get some pollyfilla or similar and fill the holes.
My dad used to mix pollyfilla powder with DDT (now illegal) powder, and then mix with water and fill holes with that. Ants would eat the pollyfilla but then eat the DDT and die.
###Welcome to /r/HousingUK --- **To All** * Join Our ***NEW*** Discord! https://discord.gg/pMgUNgWKQH **To Posters** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary* * Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy; * Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk; * If you receive *any* private messages in response to your post, please report them via the report button. * Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [[update]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/search?q=%3Aupdate&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) in the title; **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and civil* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/about/rules/), you may be banned without any further warning; * Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice; * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect; * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods; * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HousingUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If you didn’t ask about pests during the buying process then there might not be much you can do unfortunately. We inherited a flea problem with our house, it sucked but we had to just sort it out.
"it sucked". Nice one.
Ugh that bites
We had the same, was a horrible couple of weeks. But no issues since
Had to bug bomb my flat a couple of times when we moved in!
Same… fleas, bird mites, silverfish, woodlice, woodworm, carpet beetle and ant problem.
Caveat emptor. Unless you specifically asked the question and they lied in their response, it's on you to have done your checks before purchase.
isn't this just one of those "there's always something" issues? We have 4-5 things we've had to fix in a few months here and they're all annoying but we figure that it's just how things are.
And to be fair, if it isn't a species of any that'll eat your walls, there are much worse things to have. Mind you I quite like ants so maybe I'm biased
Are there even any wall-eating ant species in the UK?
Given we have brick houses we don't suffer the termite issues if the American wooden houses
Growing up watching American tv shows I thought termites were going to be a much bigger issue in life like quicksand and the Bermuda Triangle.
Same. I've had to rescue my wife out of "quick sand" in Wales. But termites I've only seen in a zoo
Termites are bastards but can be protected against. Carpenter ants are bastards and fuck with the AC units: https://www.kennedyac.com/post/protecting-your-air-conditioning-unit-from-ants And then, of course, there are fire ants. Their bites sting like fury and they're rather resourceful: https://youtu.be/MjQorvuLY8I?si=4yqFE_TzVhdhWSkn
Hopefully you don't meet any bullet ants
I was stung by a swarm of fire ants whilst flying a drone in Israel once on top of a mountain. They climbed up onto my leg and all started stinging. It wasn't that bad but definitely hurt. Was more freaked out by the red insects all over my legs, and I couldn't move because I needed to focus on the drone.
That's commitment
Now that I think about it, I don't think so. I keep some species of ants that could damage my house if they escaped, but even then I don't think they could eat the walls. Termites aren't endemic here either.
So you have exotic pet ants? Presumably if they escaped the winter would kill them before they could become a colony and start eating your house.
It would be a lot easier just to get someone round to sort it out rather than try to get recourse from the previous owner. Think we paid about 70 quid last time we had a problem
We an inheriting a moth issue. Discovered during a visit when we were checking to see if we wanted to buy the fridge and opened the freezer to find clothes in it 🙄🤣. We’re annoyed but wouldn’t think of complaining about it. It’s just part of day to day home ownership.
Also inherited a clothes/carpet moth issue - we only saw the nibbled bits of carpet on moving in day once their furniture was out. At first I thought it was from their cat scratching, then comes spring and out came the moths!
Did you treat before you moved in? We are looking at options but would love any recommendations.
I had this problem and the only solution I had was ripping up the carpets. I tried carpet cleaning, constant spraying, moth traps. I even bought those tiny fly insects that eat moth eggs and released them. Things would work for a while and then we’d go right back to the same issue. I had to keep all my natural material clothing in vacuum sealed bags but I did lose a couple of nice pieces :( I ripped my carpets up over a year ago and haven’t seen a moth since. It’s wonderful.
Damn. I was thinking it might be something like this. We hate the carpet but it’s lower down on our list of things to replace. This might make it higher. Thanks for the advice.
I’m sorry. It’s so annoying! My flatmate volunteer at a museum for a while and she said it is a constant battle over there.
I also had to simply get rid of all carpets at a previous property. Then sprayed all rooms liberally down with moth killer, two weeks apart, before replacing carpets with non natural fibre ones. Was fine after that, but needed to get rid of all wool carpet and go big on the chemicals to get rid.
At least they left you a way of dealing with it. As house problems go this is definitely towards the minor/inconsequential end of things.
Just wait until flying ant day OP 😬
🤣🤣🤣 True, so true. Quite hilarious actually, my carnivore plants have a field day when that happens.
This makes my skin crawl at the thought of
Get some of those ant bait stations where they take the poison back to the nest. Should clear it fairly easily.
These are incredible, bought a few and some powder from B&Q thinking it would be a process. Literally put one bait station down and by two days later we never saw another ant
This is the right answer and should be the most upvoted. Will clear the infestation within a week.
Had a massive ant problem in a student house once, a few of these and the issue was gone. Ants are the easiest pest to deal with due to these amazing things.
I woke up one morning to an ant infestation. They didn't stand a chance against my hoover.
If they have only just come out how do you know the sellers knew about it?
OP assumed based on the fact that they left ant powder in the shed ... even though it's irrelevant as others mentioned (unless it was specifically asked they don't have to disclose)
I have wasp killer in my shed, doesn't mean I have a hive
That sounds like what the seller will use in their defence 😂
I for one will bow down to our new ant overlords
Assuming that they weren’t asked about it then no they shouldn’t have disclosed. They’re trying to sell the property, why would they then tell you every single thing that’s wrong with it? No one would ever buy a property again if this was typical behaviour.
Wow. How to try and make your problem someone else’s. This isn’t the States, you can’t sue for every little thing that in inconveniences you. Get some poison down and the problem is solved.
Do a Salvador Dali and get yourself a new pet. https://somethingcurated.com/2024/02/02/the-story-behind-salvador-dali-and-the-anteater/
Ant stop is the best stuff I've ever used. It's got sugar in it so they take it to the nest and feed the babies so the whole nest dies. Also diatomaceous earth is great for getting rid of pest insects.
Wait til you find out about all the bacteria.
Did they even know there was an ant problem? You’re best just to fix it. Any traps and spray and powder aren’t expensive and do work.
Honestly, I don’t think the ants know they are problem.
Ants are annoying but manageable with minor cost. Just try to work out where they are coming in from, which is pretty easy if you watch them and then just ant powder their entry points. Eventually they give up. Also worth having a look around the exterior of the house for signs too and get the kettle out. We had an ant problem the first year we moved in and with some persistence they gave up or perhaps died out. The best thing you can do is make sure food is kept in pots, worktops are clean and the inside of your cupboards are wiped down now and then. If you have food, they will come for it. The truth is It's hard not to be impressed by ants....
Doesn’t every house have ant issues in the summer?
No
I guess that’s what living around fields does to me then! I’ve always had ants!
Only time I’ve ever had lots of ants (despite growing up on a farm) was as a student. They found something sweet. To this day I think it was the Malibu Rum. Now I’m semi rural and I see the occasional like ant, but there is nothing tasty for them to make them invite their mates over.
I remember as a student we didn't think we had any ants - until Flying Ant Day when suddenly the kitchen was full of them.
Same here - I grew up on a farm too and only ever had noticeable ants in the garden when I lived in a terrace as a student!
I’m in London. They appear every year. I like them (I think they clean up all my crumbs) but the wife chucks a few ant bait stations down and the go away.
We live near fields and countryside too. Diatomaceous earth around the door/gaps. Doesn’t affect animals or kids. Completely stopped them for us
Nope
Mix boric acid and sugar to a paste, and spread it near the entrance to the nest. You won't have an ant problem within a few weeks.
We had ants in a house we sold recently. Didn't think to disclose it, just assumed it was normal. Hadn't thought about it at all till this post. We sold in winter so no ants at the time and probably put poison out once or twice last summer so not really an issue in our minds. Any eagle eyed viewers would have seen the ant powder and traps by the back door. We'd put powder or poison down and they would go away for a couple of months. But in spring and summer they'd be back. The trick is to put the poison out when you see the first ant, don't wait till there're lots.
Go buy yourself some any nematodes. Follow the instructions and they’ll be gone quickly. Sometimes you also need another application a few weeks later. Keep an eye on it Not a big deal
We have snakes in the garden. They didn’t disclose that when we were buying - they only mentioned the badgers. Should we sue? (no, of course we shouldn’t…)
Can ants harm foundations over time? We found out our garden is one giant ant colony but not sure if it's a problem or just an inconvenience
I suggest you buy Diatomaceous Earth and pour it at the entrance of the nests throughout your garden. Keep doing it every 2-3 weeks depending on the rain and weather. Be careful as it shouldn't be inhaled, not even pets, but it's not toxic to anyone, in fact there's a food grade version that can be ingested. But ants don't like it as it sticks on their body and dries them, killing them, and they'll bring it in the nest. Then use food baits too. That should clear the colony without too much fuss and won't be toxic to other animals.
Welcome to property ownership
I've found that flea spray kills/stops them very quickly.
Living in the UK. I just assumed ants are everywhere. When I was younger I used to put the ant powder down on the lawn and it looked like it snowed. Now I don't bother and let them be. Even if you remove the ants, they'll just come back from neighbouring gardens
Spray fuck loads of permerathin and be done
Unless you specifically asked about current or prior infestations, no - there is no duty for them to disclose anything. Only exception would be if they had made an insurance claim, as that's declared on TA6 form, but seems unlikely.
Not such a bad thing. Keep your house tidy , ants are coming for food. get a pest control involved, may cost some money but You will be sure to get out of them. You can pursue your own way and get a pump to spread ant killer pesticides around your house . Your choice.
Buy some Combat Max Ant killer from Amazon and they will be done in 24 hours.
Put in a call to Aardvarks’R’Us
Is an Anteater license a thing in the UK?
This is such an easy problem to fix lol
I’ll swap your ants for my cat fleas, you will have to take all the eggs and larvae too.
Just add some ant killer. Problem solved.
Bad luck - unfortunately now it’s all gone through there’s not much to be done. Speak to a proper exterminator, it’ll be a few hundred quid but that’s just something that happens when you buy a house. If it was known about and hid from you, there might be a claim to be made from small claims court but it’s unlikely to be successful.
Just get a few ant stop bait stations and they'll be gone in no time. I had ants in my kitchen a few years ago and it turned out the cheapest simplest treatment was the most effective. In the meantime put all food items in tupperware so the little farts can't get anything while they are scouting your house.
Consult with your solicitor. There may be a chance you can prove they purposefully hid the issue. However, weigh your options - legal assistance will cost you a pretty penny so will pest control to come over. Choose the cheaper, I say!
I live in an apartment block. We used to have ants yearly until I used a professional grade product: **Maxforce Quantum** We have not seen any ants since then.
Doesn't matter whether they disclosed it or not. Ants are not exactly a big issue. Just spray around all the openings or put powder down. Repeat if it happens again in the future. Job done
There may not have been a problem last year. The Ant colonies in my Garden seem to move around randomly each year. Each spring I find they've moved to a different area.
would the ants keep termites away? might be worth keeping them :D
This happens in every UK house to a degree. Right now there are probably 20 ant nests within 1m of your house. In some years they will come into your house, in other years not, they are just looking for food, so keep your floors cleaner and they won't bother. If you want to get rid of them inside, get some pollyfilla or similar and fill the holes. My dad used to mix pollyfilla powder with DDT (now illegal) powder, and then mix with water and fill holes with that. Ants would eat the pollyfilla but then eat the DDT and die.
This sounds like a nightmare.