Carpenter ants are big species of ants that can terrorize you. When left untreated, a carpenter ant infestation can lead to serious property damage. These ants munch and drill on wood, weakening your home’s wooden structures and furniture. However, these species don’t eat wood. Rather, they only drill holes through decomposing or wet wood to create nests. Often, they won’t use the wood outside their nest. To avoid the damage that these ants cause, contact Saela Pest for pest control services once you detect the presence of carpenter ants in your house.
How to Know an Infestation is Active
To confirm the presence of carpenter ants in your house, below are signs to watch out for:
- Rustling or scratching sound. Carpenter ants tunnel into the woodwork to build nests. They tend to make noise as they eliminate the fragments of the wood.
- Live ants. Carpenter ants are a big, black species. Finding a few of them inside your house can mean more of them are just hiding in their nests.
- Sawdust or wood shaving. As carpenter ants do their thing, they leave behind wood shavings or sawdust behind wooden structures such as door jambs, window sills, and baseboards.
- Trails. Carpenter ants leave behind trails as they travel distances in search of food and go back to their nest.
- Flying ants. These can be seen from the walls, crawl spaces, floor joists, and hollow doors.
Dealing with an Infestation
Carpenter ant elimination can be hard; however, it is not dangerous. While you can do it yourself, it is best to hire an expert. To get rid of those annoying pests, below are steps you can take:
- Find the nest. Carpenter ants like dry wood to build their nests. Finding them in your house might indicate that the timber that supports the structure has been compromised. To find their nest, check for rotting wood in your house.
- Use pesticides to treat the nest. This process requires the best care possible. To successfully treat the nest, allow a professional to do it. But if you want to try it, ensure you adhere to the supporting instructions that come with the product.
- Hire experts. Pest control experts are fully equipped to eliminate a carpenter ant infestation. while DIY ant control is possible, there may be satellite colonies, which make it hard to eliminate an infestation by yourself. Experts know how to approach this problem and eliminate an entire colony.
Preventive Measures
To avoid the damage that carpenter ants cause, prevent them from infesting your home from the get-go. This involves cleaning your house and keeping it in perfect shape. Check for leaks or other indications of excessive dampness. Aside from eliminating extra moisture, you must also remove any that these pests have damaged. These include broken wooden furniture in your home like chairs and couches.
In addition, carpenter ants can penetrate the yard or lawn if the greenery is not maintained. From this location, they can enter your house easily. Thus, you should trim all shrubs and trees regularly.
