Ants and woodlice destroying mortar under coping

[gregch]

Just opened up for the second season since refurb, and although everything still looks good, I noticed a pile of ants and woodlice on the floor of the pool in one corner.

Looking at that corner, it looks like they've somehow got under the copings and are emerging through a gap they've opened up in the mortar. They're now also in the liner lock track.

So, a couple of questions:
1) How to eradicate the ants and woodlice? I've tried the ant bait stations hoping to kill the nest, but they've had no effect.
2) How to patch up the mortar under the copings? Is there a recommended ready-mix product for that?

Oh, also:
3) Is it worth fitting liner lock wedge profile to at least close up any gap between liner and liner lock? The liner has actually pulled out of that corner a little bit so I think I need to fix that before water/bugs get behind the liner, but waiting until it's hotter and the liner's more flexible.

I guess it's possible that you guys in the US don't have the same micro-critters we do; the ants are tiny black ants, and the woodlice I think are the same as in the US, little gray prehistoric microbeasties. Can't seem to get rid of either from around that corner of the pool.

 

[ajw22]

I don't believe the ants and woodlice opened up a gap in the mortar. The mortar deteriorated and the ants and woodlice moved in through the loose material.

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Getting rid of ants around the pool

Since we put pavers around the pool five years ago, we have problems with ants digging up the sand underneath them every spring. It some cases, it's right next to the skimmer basket causing sand to get in the pool. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid of them? And how to keep...

www.troublefreepool.com

The proper way to repair deteriorated mortar is to remove the stone, clean off the old mortar, and replace the stone in a bed of Type S mortar.

 

[gregch]

Thanks for finding those links, much appreciated.

You might well be right about the mortar; it's not what I wanted to hear though! It's less than two years since the whole thing (pool refurb, new liner, copings, paved surround) was done. Can't face the idea of taking it all up again and starting again (can't afford to, either!).

Also, I don't really get how they've found their way all the way under the pool surround (it's all paved the same, and the top surface and pointing is intact with no evidence of ants coming in or out). Seems odd that the mortar's just failed in such a way as to allow a passageway, under the paving, from the outside corner of the pool surround paving to the inside corner of the pool... and below the mortar is an uninterrupted reinforced concrete slab, so they can't come up from underneath.

I think I'll try and kill them off (or knock them back at least) and then try and patch the mortar best I can, and go looking for a point of entry on the outside edge of the surround and see if I can fix that too.

 

[Dirk]

I had horrendous ant issues when I first moved in. Found a "bug guy" who eradicated NINE ant colonies on my property. He used a chemical called Termidor, though I don't know if that is a brand, a line of chemicals, or a specific chemical. Anyway, it's something only licensed bug guys can use (or at least that strength or type of Termidor). And boy did it work. The ants take it back to the colony and it wipes all of them out. For the first year, my neighbors said their ant problems went away, too!

If I remember right, it can only be applied every so often, because the ants will build up a tolerance to it. I've messed with off-the-shelf ant control stuff over the years, at this house and the last, with minimal results, leaving me with a few less ants and a garage shelf full of nasty chemicals. I don't do that anymore.

Point being, let a pro solve the ant problem for you. They've got "the stuff" and they'll know how to use it. I've continued using the same guy ever since. He comes four times a year. I don't ever have ants, and I get a single, tiny spider in the house about once every three months. No silverfish. No pincher bugs. No nothing. It's a great luxury that doesn't cost all that much.