Ok so first of all I live in Australia.
Here, in pretty much any nice park, where you go to sit down on soft green grass – you will inevitably find yourself getting attacked and bitten by ants.
Does this also happen in the UK?
Are ants bitey in the UK?
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Yes they are.
Depends, the red ones are bitey the little black ones are harmless.
Yeah, they bite, but at least they won’t kill you like every second bitey thing in Australia.
I’m scared of Australia 😁
The red ones bite but black ones are more common and they don’t. I actually forgot about red ants until I read your question. I don’t think I’ve seen any since I was a kid. You can sit on the grass without fear.
I’m in rural Scotland. It’s not the ants you have to watch out for, it’s the ticks & midge.
British ants tend to do their utmost to avoid you. They’ll only bite if you’re in close proximity to a nest. And they’re incredibly easy to avoid, if you’re having a picnic and see some ants just move a few feet in another direction.
Also their bites are nothing-burgers.
Horse flies on the other hand – they are real fuckers. I got bitten by one on the top of my foot. It itched and itched for weeks.
They’re bitey but nothing like a bull ant bite, or even a green ant bite.
If you sit on a nest you’ll get bitten but it’s not searing pain. They don’t seek you out the way ants do in Australia.
You’re more likely to get a wet arse.
Mostly not, you can picnic in the park with no worries, but if you are out in woodland there are wood ants that can squirt formic acid at you, which stings.
If you’re to the North or west of the Central belt, it’s the midges you need to watch out for – they can drain a man of all blood in a matter of minutes…
(Or at least, it certainly feels like it with the things always attacking in swarms)
Buy good insect repellent geared for the midges. Smidge is probably the best currently marketed insect repellent for Scotland. Some skin lotions might also do the job – for years Avon’s “skin so soft” was regularly bought by anyone who worked outdoors in Scotland – them Avon changed the recipe and the midges came swarming in on those people…
Not like some Aussie ants, some ants in Australia can really ruin your day. The red ants in the UK can bite, but not comparable to some of the bites you can get in Aus.
No. I was shocked when one bit me at the Gold Coast. It really hurt!
Unfortunately our house is on top of a giant ant nest, the whole property is infested underground. Every year they pick 4 spots to emerge from and try to invade the house, it’s like the scene from Legion standing on top of the restaurant.
Got bit once and it genuinely shocked me, I had no idea they did that, really hurt as well for second or two but then went away
British ant species are largely scavengers rather than predators. They feed from discarded scraps and dead insects. Any aggression they have is reserved for defence of the nest against intruders. But the jaws of a Lassius Niger (black pavement ants) are nowhere near strong enough to pierce human skin. And they generally use formic acid to bring down predators rather than biting them.
There are a few slightly bitey ants – mainly woodland species, but no. Nothing really like Australia (married to an Australian)
I’ve never been attacked by ants in the park, and the ones I’ve seen in the garden are generally black ants which do bite but are not crazy painful
No. Our ants are very small and generally harmless.
Uk ants don’t really bite – they use formic acid as either a spray or sting.
yeah :/ its mostly itchy though but not painful, and also its a pretty rare event. the worst thing that happens here from sitting on green grass is a wet arse. even if the suns out today it was probably pissing down all week
No they’re tiny compared to..well any Australian bug
When I was a kid I had an ant on my hand that was trying to bite me, so I ate it. Ants taste like vinegar.
Nah but you can get some tropical diseases in the fens if you’re not careful
You are unlikely to see any ants in the UK unless you specifically go looking for them. You’d have to go back in time 20 years to even think about being bothered by anything at the park. These days it’s just midges.
No. Ants are everywhere, like everywhere else, but we don’t have any aggressive ants. Day to day nay bother, long term more of an issue.
Flying ants are very bitey but you’d be hard pressed to get bitten by any other type of ant
Black ants don’t sting, red ants do although it’s not a particularly painful sting.
As an Aussie who lived in the UK for a while, the worst thing is actually the wasps in summer. They fucking drink your beer and eat whatever you’re trying to BBQ. At least Australian wasps mostly keep to themselves and don’t fight you for a beer.
‘Red ants’ (Myrmica rubra/ruginodis) have a sting, it’s like a nettle because its the same chemical as stinging nettles, but they aren’t common and don’t really sting unless it’s flying ant day (nuptial flights)
There’s yellow meadow ants (Lasius flavus) that a lot of people think are red ants. But they don’t sting and only come above ground if disturbed.
Black ants (L. niger) will only bite if you’re picking them up.
Wood ants (Formica rufa) are the largest and give a nasty bite. But they are so uncommon most people have never seen them.
And our snakes are pitiful too
Basically no. I’m sure someone will be along to well, actually… but it’s not something we ever worry about.
Was once on a motorbike with my dad and we stopped at the side of the road for a bit, helmets down. Upon picking them up we noticed the ants. Shook them and got then out best we could but after a couple minutes on the road we had to stop again because my dad was bitten on the top of the head in his helmet by an ant.
I’m sure they aren’t as bad as Australian ones but they hurt.
I have been bitten by those little garden ants twice. It’s not as bad as the stinging nettles. They’re the real menace you want to look out for!
As an Australian living long-term in the UK it’s one of the greatest joys living here to not have to worry about ants biting you if you’re sitting or lying in grass. Really had to train myself to get over that natural recoil reaction that they were going to bite when they crawl on you! Life without green ants is a blessing 🙏
Don’t really remember the last time I saw ants in the UK.
Red ants might bite you. Black ones don’t.
I’m a gardener, I get bitten by red ants now and again. It’s never happened outside of work, and I’m pretty sure they aren’t as bad as bull ants or whatever other mad ants you have in Oz.
Red yes. Every other kind no.
I’ve only seen ants bite if you invade their space. Like as a kid, I accidentally out ym hand through a mound when I fell over and it was an egg store. They did NOT like that and my whole arm was covered in ants. Only had a few small bites though.
One other time as a kid my friend and I put a seagull feather down a nest opening anf they swarmed it and you can hear the bites on the hollow feather. That was during the swarming season though where they go and mate and start new colonies so might be due to thay.
Overall though, nah. Ants here will likely never bite you. Yoy can pick the black ants up and they just run around scared, red ants may sting but it’s nothing bad and you barely see them much.
A Spanish thank you is more likely.
I, for one, am flabbergasted that ants in Australia are vicious. The rest of the wildlife there is so friendly.
Our garden is overrun by red ants that are aggressive and swarm. It’s not an uncommon occurrence for our dog to come indoors dripping with them like some sort of eldritch horror.