KNUTSFORD has been besieged by armies of ants.

And even the experts have admitted there's not much that can be done to stop them.

"Their relentless march has not been stopped by the winter," said a spokesman for Macclesfield Borough Council.

"All we can advise is for people to block up the gaps to their houses to stop them getting in."

One Knutsford woman turned to desperate measures after being plagued by hoards of the insects.

"I sprayed and powdered under the carpets, the walls, the window sills - everywhere," she said.

"I couldn't believe it the next day when although lots had 'bitten the dust,' others were coming in and tiny ones were swaying like men who had drunk too much wine the night before."

Even her home-made deadly cocktail of ant, curry AND pepper powder was powerless to get rid of them.

But she's not alone in her fight against the disturbing, but perfectly harmless, insects.

Three months ago even Knutsford District Community Hospital was hit.

"Pest control came in with some kind of white spray and we have been ant-free since - touch wood," said a hospital spokesman.

Alex Smith, who works at Wares hardware store in King Street, said manufacturers of ant powders and sprays had been unable to keep up with the demand for their bug busters.

"We have sold a phenomenal amount of ants sprays and powders this year, starting as far back as February," he said.

Pest control experts said a mild winter had saved garden ants, who fly in the mating season, from being frozen to death.

But one said it was notoriously difficult to stamp them out for good.

"Unlike wasps, it is hard to find an ants' nest to destroy it, which is the only effective control."

It seems the only defence is to draw battlelines in powder and sprays - and keep trying.

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