As if food premises didn’t have enough pet control problems, hundreds of Argentinian ants which carry diseases such as salmonella and streptococcus, have invaded Britain this summer.

The tropical insects, said to be covered in red hair, have sparked warnings from pest control experts after reports of attacks on animals and crops.

The spread has been blamed, among other things, on the increase in flats and tower blocks. Black and 3mm long, they hide in cracks in walls, and between timbers.

Pest control experts advise pouring a kettle of boiling water over the nest site before puffing an insecticidal powder product into the hole in order to destroy a nest.