Getting rid of ants in block paving

My block paving has become infested with ants , nice open aspect, mild temperatures, a perfect holiday retreat! I've tried Nippon ant spray and ant powder, neither of which have made any difference. Has anyone any successful remedies they could recommend please?

 

Boiling water.

 

Lemon juice.

 

Leave them! The world won't end if they have a teeny space to live.

 

I agree with the boiling water, but I've found that while it kills a few, some always survive to nest elsewhere.

I've noticed more ants' nests this year, but decided to leave them be, if they weren't too close to the house. The birds will help out!!

If you have a real infestation, rather than three or four nests, using powder is fine, but unsightly.

I have a large nest by the front gate, close to a blackbird nest. If I use powder, the birds might ingest poisoned ants. I also had a couple on the patio. I used boiling water, and powder close to the house. They just moved elsewhere!! It was only when they were getting under the back door into the conservatory, that I really worried.

So long as I can keep them outside, the birds can help themselves.
The wife is a little less tolerant!!
However, the ants do seem to eat the blackfly on the redcurrants and calendula.

 

I wonder if people think at all about the suffering scalding living being causes...it really is such an ineffective and cruel method.

 

Thank you all for your replies. I'm going to leave them, which was my initial instinct until it got worse, but you've convinced me to be tolerant .

 

I've had ants in my fairly new block paved drive and I used Nippon Ant Powder. After a couple of treatments they were gone.
I have no problem with ants in plant pots or elsewhere in my garden, but they 'dig out' all the fine sand between the paviours which is followed by plenty of weeds and I don't want my nearly new drive spoiled by them.

BTW @RowlandsCastle the ants milk the blackfly for their sweet honeydew, they don't eat them, they care for them

 

Boiling water is cruel and pesticides indiscriminate. They like the blocks because it's dry so it's a good place to nest and rear their young.

i'd leave them alone but @Plantminded but, if they start heading towards the house or nesting under precious plants, you can deter them with smell. I've never seen it to buy but understand that Pennyroyal plants have an odour that repels them. My own solution is to mix a 5 litre can of water with one small bottle of essential oil of cloves and pour that whereI don't want them to be. They can't stand the smell and stay away. No harm done.

 

The old part of our cottage has always been an issue with ants. They are under the slabs at the front of the cottage and build their nests. Then they decide not enough room so they continue under the slabs and into the house (the older part of the cottage has no foundations). We then have ants nest in the sitting room and sorry people but we do have to resort to chemicals and we have to keep doing it over many weeks. This year they have installed themselves on the outside window sill and got behind the window. Very difficult to sort this out. Don't get many green woodpeckers that like sitting on a window sill and the other birds only go for some ants on the ground and then clear off.

 

In doors I would use those ant bait station things, takes a week or two but once you get them feeding you can usually see a reduction.

Outside I leave them but do find nests in large plant pots a pain, I usually use an insecticide at spray strength as a drench for those.

 

@pete thank you. We have used the bait stations and yes we agree it does take some time before you notice a reduction.

 

Point taken @Pete8
I'd assumed they sucked the blackfly dry (thus killing them), but left the carcasses behind. I stand corrected!!

 

We have a fairly large number of ants milling about close to our patio doors. I planted a big pot up with mint (spearmint in this case), placed it on the step and so far they haven’t ventured into the house. Last year we had a few inside