Carpenter Ants

What Are Carpenter Ants?

With six legs, two antennae, and three main body parts, the carpenter ants are pretty identifiable among the masses. With their black and reddish bodies, they’ll be pretty hard to distinguish between other ants, but that doesn’t mean the task isn’t possible. The thing about carpenter ants is, you’ll never see one alone. They are social creatures and travel in packs, working in conjunction towards a common goal. That goal is to further the growth of the colony. All that being said, one of the best ways to distinguish between these pests, besides their social manner, is their strong mandibles.

The carpenter ant has an extremely powerful mandible that allows it to excavate through wood structures. This wood will then be later used for the construction of the colony. These ants are usually red or black or some variation or red and black. The workers of the colony can vary anywhere from 1/8 to ½ inch in length, while the queen of the species can grow to be as big as 5/8 inches.

Interrupting The Signs Of Carpenter Ants

The best way for dealing with carpenter ants is to prevent the problem before it starts. Unfortunately, this won’t be the easiest task. However, it will be a task that’ll require learning how to identify a problem. How can you eliminate carpenter ants, if you don’t know you have a problem? You can’t, but that’s what you’re about to learn.

Keep Your Eyes On–Sight is one of the best ways to detect these critters. Keep an eye out for the critter, as you’ll see them foraging in, on, and around your home. Remember what they look like from above.

Sawdust Trails – You learned that these critters have strong mandibles that allow them to chew through wood. Any time wood is cut, it leaves sawdust behind. Unexplained sawdust could be a sign of ants burrowing into wooden structures.

Open Them Ears – In addition to seeing these ants, you can also hear them. Place your ear against the wall and see what you hear rustling inside.

Presence Of Winged Ants – The main goal of this species is to spread. The winged ants will oftentimes venture off to start their separate colonies. This will be the only time you see the ant traveling alone, and it will not be a good sign. It means the ant is looking to build a new colony.

Why Are Ants In My Home?

Carpenter ants, like many pests and even humans, need certain necessities to survives. As you’ve likely already guessed, these necessities are shelter, water, and food. If you see carpenter ants in your home, they are likely looking for shelter, food, or water. Speaking of shelter, something is interesting to note here. Carpenter ants prefer to live outdoors as well rotten wood. They will build colonies in sound wood, but it is more of a last resort type of thing.

The same thing can be said for building colonies indoors. If you spot a nest inside your home, it is likely a bi-product of another colony. Ants prefer to be outside and will construct original colonies outside the home. They’ll also build multiple tunnels, providing them access to the home so they can get water and food.

Are Carpenter Ants Dangerous

Carpenter ants don’t bite or nip humans. Heck, they won’t even cause your pests a problem, but they will destroy your wood structures. With their ability and desire to burrow into wooden structures, these creatures will destroy wood products, given the change.

How To Eliminate Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants are extremely complex and social critters. These are two of the distinctive things that make them difficult to successfully eliminate. Combine this with the fact that they construct multiple tunnels in and out of the home, it only makes matters even worse. They’ll colonize outside and build multiple tunnels with various entrances and exits leading in and out of your home. This is why successful treatment usually involves tricking the ants into taking poison back to the nest.

This is something that a pest management professional can assist with. Just remember that carpenter ants break off and create separate colonies so you might have multiple colonies on your hands. Regardless, you can likely see the need for professional pest management. It only takes one insect surviving to further the growth of the colony.

Can I Eliminate Carpenter Ants Myself?

There are tons of DIY and over-the-counter solutions available for ants, but the truth of the matter is, they just aren’t effective. The reason for this is, it usually requires pesticides or chemicals to kill these critters. You usually have to trick them into taking poison back to their colony and poisoning the entire colony. Unfortunately, the chemicals available to do this on the Internet aren’t as effective as the ones the pros use. This is because it is illegal to buy, sell, and distribute certain pesticides.

All in all, you can attempt carpenter ant elimination, but chances are, you’ll be unsuccessful. You’ll probably just save yourself time and money by opting for a professional.

When Will Help Get Here?

With our unique understanding of pest management combined with our access to tools and qualified techs, we stay busy all time of the year. That being said, we are always more than willing to adapt for our customers. It doesn’t matter if you need us out at the home on a weekend or after hours, we’ll be there. All you have to do is pick up the phone and call!

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