Longueuil, a major city on the South Shore located between Deux-Montagnes and Mirabel, is home to several schools whose schoolyards with paved surfaces are a particularly conducive environment for pavement ants. Our team was called in by an elementary school administration after staff members reported the repeated presence of ants in the preschoolers’ break room and near the kindergarten lockers. Prior visual inspections had revealed numerous mounds of fine sand between the joints of the cobblestones of the playground, a classic sign of an active infestation of pavement ants.
Inspection in schools: constraints and methods
The intervention was scheduled for a Friday afternoon, after the students had left, to comply with the safety protocols applicable to schools attended by children. The inspection covered the paved playground, main entrances, foundation perimeter and staff parking. The technician identified five active fires distributed under the hard surfaces: three in the yard, one under the bus drop-off and one in the joints of a low wall along the adjacent park. Inside, the ants entered through two cracks in the foundation block on the north side, directly under the kindergarten relaxation room. The rigour of the initial inspection made it possible to precisely identify the areas to be treated and to choose products adapted to the sensitivity of the school environment.
Safe treatment for children and staff
The strategy adopted for this extermination of pavement ants in Longueuil relied on methods with a low environmental impact. Outside, granular baits made from slow-acting synthetic pyrethrum were applied in the joints and around the mounds, allowing the workers to distribute the bait to the queen without direct contact with children. All the treated areas outside were marked out and left inaccessible for the duration of the drying process. Inside, the two identified foundation cracks were sealed with a mineral sealant and protected by a localized application of diatomaced powder in the block cavity. No volatile chemicals were used inside the building. The work treated on paving stone ants in a public building illustrates the same prudent approach that we apply in schools. You will also find useful information in our realization about anthills in sensitive environments.
Follow-up, recommendations and long-term prevention
A comprehensive report was submitted to the school principal, outlining the outbreaks treated, the methods used, and long-term recommendations. These include repointing the yard pavers with a rigid polymeric mortar, inspecting and sealing all visible foundation cracks before winter, and pruning shrubs in contact with the walls of the building. For continued seasonal protection, caulking of ports of entry has been recommended as an annual preventive intervention. A control visit was carried out five weeks later, at the end of the school day, to validate the complete elimination of the colonies. As a certified exterminator on the South Shore and South Shore, Nova Extermination adapts its protocols to the requirements of each type of building, whether it is a school, a daycare or a health facility.