There is a complex ecosystem of house bugs, but carpenter ants stand out as sneaky but important destroyers. Termites eat wood, but carpenter ants want to dig through it, which is a more sneaky goal. Let’s look at the details of how these ants, which seem harmless at first glance, can really be dangerous to your home’s structure.
How to Spot a Carpenter Ant in “The Black Giants”
Carpenter ants are big ants that are usually black. They are sometimes called the “black giants” of the ant world. Their unique size, which ranges from 3.4 to 13 mm, makes them stand out. They come in different shades, from black to red. Figuring out what kind of ant it is is important because, unlike other ants, it doesn’t eat wood; instead, it carves holes in wood to build homes.
How Carpenter Ants Work as Structural Saboteurs
Carpenter ants get into wooden buildings by digging tunnels inside or around them. They don’t eat the wood; instead, they use it to build nests. These galleries can weaken the structure of your home over time if you don’t take care of them. This could have dangerous effects.
Signs of an Infestation: Finding Carpenter Ants
Finding carpenter ant problems early is very important if you want to keep the damage from getting worse. Watch out for these signs:
- Sawdust Piles: Carpenter ants don’t eat wood, but they do move the dust from their building projects around. If you see little piles of sawdust near your house, especially near wooden things, it might be a sign.
- Strange Sounds: If you have a lot of carpenter ants in your home, you might hear faint rustling sounds coming from behind the walls. This is what happened because they were in the woods.
- Winged Ants: When carpenter ant groups get old enough, they make winged reproductive ants. If you see these flying ants, it means there is a population there, and you should take action.
Where Carpenter Ant Colonies Like to Live
To keep carpenter ants from coming into your home, you need to know where they like to live. They like places that are damp or moist, like the spaces between panelled doors, wood cabinets near dishwashers, and damp areas behind baseboards and window frames. Checking these places often can help you find early signs of carpenter ant activity.
The Alert: Ants with wings take off
The appearance of flying ants is a clear sign that a colony of carpenter ants is fully grown. When you see carpenter ants with wings, it means the colony is fully grown and becoming bigger. At this point, their actions may change from a quiet tunnelling phase to a more obvious and possibly harmful phase.
How to Keep Carpenter Ant Problems from Happening
To protect yourself from carpenter ant dangers, you need to do a few things:
- Moisture Control: Fix any water leaks or other moisture problems right away, because carpenter ants like places that are wet.
- Sealing Entry Points: Check your home’s base and outside regularly for cracks or holes and seal them up. Carpenter ants can get in through the smallest openings.
- Wood Maintenance: Keep wooden buildings in good shape, especially ones that are close to sources of water. Carpenter ants love to live in wood that is rotting or damp.
Professional Intervention: Making Sure of Complete Elimination
Taking steps to keep carpenter ants out is important, but if they have already gotten in, you need a professional to help. Finding and getting rid of the nest, which is often hidden deep inside buildings, is a unique task. Professional pest control companies use focused methods like baiting, spraying, and dusting to make sure that all carpenter ant colonies are gone.
In the end, carpenter ants are more dangerous than their size suggests. The framework of your home can become less stable because of their sneaky but destructive behaviour. You can keep these wooden saboteurs away by being alert, finding them early, and taking a variety of preventative steps.
The team at ant control Port Perry are licensed and insured exterminators who have multiple years of experience in the pest control field and can take on any type of infestation regardless of the scope and severity of the ant infestation. We combat the ants with commercial-grade low-mammalian toxicity pesticides that have long-lasting residual effects that will impact the population soon as ants walk on the treatment.