The Problem
Carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) are found almost everywhere in North America. Although they do not eat trees, they dig canals to make burrows for their nests. If they enter, they will start in the water-affected area. They can work their way up to stronger wood from there, eventually weakening it and causing massive damage. Carpenter ants are a nuisance and can cause serious damage to your home without warning. In a matter of minutes, they can burrow through walls and weaken structural integrity, leading to expensive repairs.
Having carpenter ants in your home means that you’re dealing with more than just an inconvenience—it’s a potential disaster waiting to happen. These pests can damage the foundation of your home and cause thousands of dollars in repairs.
Why Do Carpenter Ants Come Into Your Home?
Carpenter Ants are attracted to the sweet, fermenting liquids and meaty food particles found on human skin. They also love our garbage, stored inside our kitchens and garages.
Where Do They Come From?
Carpenter ants can often be found living in wood and furnishings. They can cause significant damage since they tunnel and chew through wood to create nests. They do not actually eat the wood though.
We’ll show you how to identify carpenter ants and get rid of them. However, since it is almost impossible to tell the extent of the damage just by looking at it, we recommend contacting a professional pest control company.
Types Of Carpenter Ants
There are different types of carpenter ants, and their colors and sizes are different. However, the common giant ant of North America is quite large, measuring between 4 and 5/8 inches in body length. They are usually black or red and have feathers. These feathers help the ants find a new location for the colony, which occurs in the spring, from May to August in the eastern United States and from February to June in the west.
Because carpenter ants build nests in trees, winged carpenter ants are sometimes confused with carpenter ants. But the naked eye can distinguish between these two viruses. Carpenter ants have a narrow “waist” or midsection (chest), and the antennae are elbow-like parts of the waist. When these ants have wings, they have few veins, and the forewings are longer than the hindwings. On the other hand, the wing-shaped. They have two linear sections (no “EL,” just two sections and a middle section.
You may encounter worker ants before you get to the nest. Just because you have a few carpenter ants in your home doesn’t mean you have a large colony inside. A few ants may have come from outside the colony. However, if you see a flock of winged carpenter ants, this means the parent colony is nearby. This is because these swarms only spawn if the area is at least two years old.
Other signs you may notice are small holes in the treetops that ants have crawled through. There may be dead ants or parts of ants on a piece of wood. These ants tend to nest in damp, rotting wood. So when looking for nests, look for places near running water, such as bathrooms, under sinks, and near windows and frames. For example, where you live, carpenter ants that live in the northern United States may do better indoors than species found in the south.
How Do I Get Rid Of Carpenter Ants?
Carpenter ants can be controlled by trapping them in an insecticide bait station or liquid insecticide. There are a few home remedies you could try, however they may only provide temporary results at best. The best method of removal is by a visit from a professional exterminator to determine the point of entry and to provide a safe plan for treatment.
Contact Fly Tech Extermination today for a free phone consultation and quote.