Boucherville, a residential town on the South Shore neighboring Longueuil and Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, is renowned for its well-maintained neighborhoods and well-landscaped properties. Paradoxically, this care given to the exteriors creates very favourable conditions for anthills: flower beds, ornamental stone walls, composite wood terraces, rockeries and dense shrubs are all microhabitats where colonies can establish themselves and grow discreetly. A homeowner in the Des Îles neighbourhood in Boucherville contacted us after discovering several nests in the stone edges of her front yard, some dangerously close to the foundation of her home.
Nest mapping and identification
The inspection was conducted carefully so as not to damage the landscaping that the owner was very fond of. Our technician identified four distinct infestation areas: two nests under flat stones of an ornamental wall, a nest in the earthen embankment between the rock garden and the foundation, and a fourth at the base of a balled cedar tree located in the main bed.
The species present were black garden ants (Lasius niger), a very common species in Quebec landscaping that builds deep underground nests that can shelter several tens of thousands of individuals. The proximity of the nest at the edge of the foundation was a concern: although the black garden ant does not dig into the wood as the carpenter ant does, its underground galleries near the foundations can in the long run destabilize the backfill materials and promote water infiltration around the footings. This situation warranted a prompt and comprehensive response.
Plant-friendly treatment
Our priority has been to preserve the plants and the facilities in place. A combination of slow-release granular baits applied directly to and near nests were used, and a liquid contact insecticide injected into the main galleries using a fine-applied syringe for targeted treatment. The selected products have been selected specifically for their low impact on plants when applied according to label directions. This approach combines the effectiveness of direct treatment of deep galleries with the delayed action of granular baits, allowing for the gradual elimination of the entire colony, including breeding queens that remain in the deepest areas of the nest and are not exposed to conventional surface treatments.
For the nest at the base of the cedar, we took care to apply the product directly to the nest without wetting the trunk or the low branches. The targeted injection technique avoids direct contact with vegetation while reaching the active galleries in the soil. This precise approach protects both the ornamental plants and the effectiveness of the treatment.
Consult our page dedicated to the destruction of anthills to learn more about our intervention methods according to the different types of nests and species. Similar interventions in residential settings are documented in this residential exterior project and in this file dealing with a complex landscaping case.
Foundation Sealing and Protection
The preventive component of the intervention was particularly comprehensive because of the proximity of a nest to the foundation. Our technicians caulked the entry points by applying a foundation putty along the entire length of the junction between the rock rock embankment and the concrete wall. This measure aims to eliminate the spaces in which ants could progress towards the interior of the building in the following seasons.
In addition, a residual granular barrier was applied along the foundation perimeter, creating a durable protection zone between the landscaped floor and the wall of the house. The homeowner was informed of the importance of maintaining a minimum of a few centimetres of clear space between any mulch or organic matter and the foundation covering to prevent future nesting. Our team of exterminators in Boucherville regularly intervenes in residences with complex landscaping on the South Shore. As a certified exterminator on the South Shore and the South Shore, Nova Extermination always adapts its methods to protect both your property and your outdoor environment.