Ant Control in Sydney
Trails across the benchtop, little piles of soil between the pavers, and ants back the day after you spray. We find the nest and treat the colony, not just the trail, for homes across the Eastern Suburbs and businesses across Sydney. Family owned, licensed, and treating ants for over 20 years.
How do you get rid of ants in your house?
Getting rid of ants for good means treating the colony, not the trail. Spraying the ants you can see clears the benchtop for an afternoon while the nest keeps sending more. A professional ant treatment finds the nest, uses slow-acting bait that workers carry back to the queens, and treats the nest sites and entry points around the house.
The ants on your bench are a small share of the colony. The rest, including the queens laying the eggs, are in a nest you usually cannot see: in a wall cavity, under the pavers, in a garden bed against the house. That nest is the job.
- Inspection. We follow the trails back to where they are coming from, inside and out, and work out which ant it is.
- Identification. Black house ants, coastal brown ants and Argentine ants all need a slightly different approach, and a few ants need reporting rather than treating.
- Baiting. Slow-acting bait placed on the trails and near the nest. Workers carry it home and share it, which is how it reaches the queens.
- Nest and entry point treatment. A targeted treatment where they nest and where they come in, rather than a blanket spray.
- Advice. The food, water and gaps drawing them in, and anything touching the house that gives them a bridge.
Not sure which ant you have? Our Sydney ant identification guide covers the common ones, the ones that sting, and how to tell flying ants from termites.
How much does ant control cost in Sydney?
Ant control with PestOz starts from $218.90 including GST ($199 plus GST). If you have cockroaches or spiders as well, our general pest treatment covers ants along with them, from $218.90 including GST for an apartment and $306.90 including GST ($279 plus GST) for a house. You will have the price before we start.
If ants are the only problem, the ant treatment is the one to book. If the kitchen also has cockroaches, or there are spiders around the eaves, the general treatment does all of it in one visit, and for an apartment it costs the same. Large properties and commercial sites are quoted on their own.
For what is included in each treatment, see pest control costs in Sydney.
Black house ants, coastal brown ants or bull ants: why the species changes the job
Most ants in Sydney homes are small nuisance ants that do not sting, but where they nest, and how many nests there are, decides how we treat them. To identify yours, see the ant identification guide.
| Ant | Where the nest usually is | How we treat it | Can you deal with it yourself? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black house ant | Wall cavities, under pavers and in garden beds close to the house. | Bait on the trails, plus treatment at the nest and the gaps they use to get in. | Sometimes, with bait. A spray just moves the trail somewhere else. |
| Coastal brown ant | Under pavers, along slab edges and in sandy soil, marked by little piles of fine soil. | Treatment at the soil piles, slab edges and paving joints, plus bait. | Short term. The piles come back from the same nest. |
| Argentine ant | Many connected nests with several queens, often running across the whole property and next door. | Baiting across the property, and sometimes more than one visit. | Rarely. There is no single nest to find. |
| Bull ant | Ground nests in lawns and garden beds. | Direct treatment of the nest by a technician, with you well clear. | Not recommended. They defend the nest and the sting can cause a serious reaction. |
| Fire ant (suspected) | Dome-shaped mounds of loose soil with no obvious entry hole. | We do not treat them. It is an offence in NSW. Report them on 1800 680 244. | No. Do not disturb the mound. |
Can pest control treat fire ants?
No. Red imported fire ants are prohibited matter in NSW, and it is an offence to treat, move or possess them, so a pest controller cannot treat a suspected nest. If you think you have seen fire ants, leave the mound alone, take a photo from a safe distance, and call the NSW Biosecurity Helpline on 1800 680 244.
This matters more in Sydney than it did a few months ago. In October 2026 the NSW Government confirmed a fire ant nest at the Enfield Intermodal Logistics Centre in the inner west, the first found in the Sydney basin since a Port Botany incursion was eradicated in 2014. No other nests had been found when it was announced, and biosecurity teams are surveying and treating within two kilometres of the site.
If we find a mound on a job that looks like fire ants, we stop and report it, the same as you should. For what fire ants look like, see the fire ant section of our ant identification guide, and for the latest on the Enfield response, the NSW Government fire ants page.
Why spraying the trail is not ant control
A surface spray kills the ants it touches, and those are the foragers, not the colony. The University of California's pest management program says it directly: "Spraying ants indoors with pesticides will not prevent more ants from entering." Bait works the other way: it has to be slow-acting, so the workers survive long enough to carry it back and share it through the nest.
That is also why you may see more ants around the bait for the first day or two. They are feeding on it and taking it home, which is the bait working. Leave it alone and do not spray it. For the full story on trails, bait and why ants keep coming back, see why do ants keep coming back.
Ants in apartments and strata buildings
In an apartment block, the ants in your kitchen are often nesting somewhere you do not control: in a shared garden bed, under the common paving or inside the building's wall cavities, travelling up along pipes and cabling. Treating one unit stops the trail you can see, while the nest keeps sending ants to the next kitchen along.
We treat individual apartments, and for owners corporations and strata managers we treat the common areas where the nests actually are. For who is responsible for what in a strata building, see our strata and apartment pest control guide, or our strata pest control service.
Why late spring is the time to book ant work
Ant activity climbs with the temperature, so trails get worse through summer, and hot dry spells and heavy rain both push ants indoors. Treating a colony as it builds in spring is easier than chasing it in January, when it is at full size and the trails are everywhere. For what turns up when, see the Sydney pest calendar.
What a PestOz ant job actually involves
Five steps, in this order. Finding the nest is the step that decides whether the trail comes back.
Inspection
We follow the trails back to the nest, inside and out, and look at what is drawing them in.
Identification
Which ant it is, how many nests there are, and whether it is one to report rather than treat.
Baiting
Slow-acting bait on the trails and near the nest, for the workers to carry home.
Nest treatment
Targeted treatment at the nest sites and the gaps they use to get inside.
Advice
What to leave alone while the bait works, and what to change to keep them out.
A local team that finds the nest, not just the trail
Genuinely local
Based in Bondi and working across the Eastern Suburbs and Sydney. We know the sandy soil, the courtyards and the paving that coastal brown ants love.
Family owned, 20+ years
The same people every visit. Not a call centre and not a franchise territory.
The right ant, the right job
We identify the species before we treat, because an Argentine ant colony and a bull ant nest are completely different jobs.
Careful around kids and pets
Bait goes where ants travel and children and pets do not, and you are told how long to keep off anything that has been treated.
Homes and businesses
From a single courtyard to strata common areas, cafes and warehouses across Sydney.
Straight answers
If a supermarket bait will do the job, we will tell you. If it is a mound we should not touch, we will report it.
Ant control across the Eastern Suburbs
Based in Bondi, treating homes across the Eastern Suburbs and commercial sites across Sydney.
Ant control, answered
How much does ant control cost in Sydney?
Ant control with PestOz starts from $218.90 including GST ($199 plus GST). If you have cockroaches or spiders as well, our general pest treatment covers ants along with them, from $218.90 including GST for an apartment and $306.90 including GST ($279 plus GST) for a house. You will have the price before we start.
How long does ant treatment take to work?
You should see the trails thin out over the following days as the workers carry the bait back to the nest. Expect more ants around the bait at first, because they are feeding on it, so do not wipe it away or spray it. Large colonies with several nests, such as Argentine ants, take longer and sometimes need a second treatment.
Is ant treatment safe around children and pets?
Yes, when it is applied properly. Bait is placed in stations or in cracks along the trails, out of reach, and outdoor treatments go where ants travel and nest rather than across lawns and play areas. Your technician will tell you how long to keep children and pets off anything that has been treated.
Do I need to leave home during ant treatment?
Usually not. Most of an ant treatment is baiting and targeted treatment of nests and entry points, much of it outside. If anything is sprayed inside, your technician will tell you how long to stay out of that area before you go back in.
Can you remove a bull ant nest?
Yes. Bull ant nests in lawns and garden beds are treated directly by a technician, which is safer than tackling one yourself, because bull ants defend the nest and their sting can cause a serious allergic reaction in some people. If anyone in the house has reacted badly to an ant sting before, keep them well away from the nest until it has been treated.
Do you treat ants in apartments and strata buildings?
Yes. Ants in apartment buildings often nest in shared garden beds, under common paving or in wall cavities, so treating one unit on its own may not hold. We treat individual apartments, and for owners corporations and strata managers, including Waratah, Netstrata and Jamesons, we treat the common areas where the nests are.
What is the difference between ant control and a general pest treatment?
An ant treatment targets ants only: finding the nest, baiting and treating the nest sites and entry points. A general pest treatment covers ants along with cockroaches and spiders in one visit. If ants are your only problem, book the ant treatment. If you have cockroaches or spiders as well, the general treatment covers all of them, and for an apartment it costs the same.
Written by the PestOz team. PestOz Pest Control is family owned, licensed and fully insured, and founder Dave Spero is a licensed pest technician (licence no. 5074721). The fire ant information on this page was checked against the NSW Government on 4 November 2026, and the response at Enfield is ongoing, so check the NSW fire ants page for the latest.
Sources
- University of California Statewide IPM Program. Pest Notes: Ants ("Spraying ants indoors with pesticides will not prevent more ants from entering"; baits are taken "back to the nest where the entire colony, including queens, can be killed"; "The pesticide must be slow-acting so workers won't be killed before they get back to the nest"). ipm.ucanr.edu
- NSW Government, Fire ants in NSW ("Fire ants are prohibited matter in NSW, and it is an offence to treat, move or possess them"; NSW Biosecurity Helpline 1800 680 244; Enfield response). nsw.gov.au
- ABC News, "Invasive fire ant nest detected at logistics centre in Sydney's inner west", 13 October 2026. abc.net.au
- healthdirect Australia, Ant stings and bites. healthdirect.gov.au
Ants marching in?
Book an ant treatment and we will find the nest, not just spray the trail.