Carpenter ants are not builders by any means. Like their cousins the termites, these ants will happily chew through every wood structure in your home. The only difference is carpenter ants love soft, rotting wood because it is easier to chew. If you have these pests in your house, you need to take steps to kill them off and stop them from eating your house to the ground. Here is how to identify carpenter ants, find their nest, and destroy them completely.
Identifying Carpenter Ants
Most carpenter ants are black. Some are reddish-brown, but the majority of the workers that you see from any one colony will be black. They are about a half-inch long, and much bigger than the little black ants you see running around on sidewalks outside. The "scouts" will wander out from the nest at any hour of the day, which makes it hard to decipher where they are coming from. If the majority of the ants you see are in a particular location, then you can bet that the nest is inside a wall nearby.
Finding the Nest
Finding the nest is more difficult. You will not see a sand mound on the ground outside, like you do with sugar ants and pantry ants. The carpenter ants' nest is already in your wall. The longer you see the ants, the more ants you will have, which is why it is so important to begin exterminating them right away. Some of the largest nests of carpenter ants can take up to two years to fully destroy, and by that time, you will need to open up the "gallery" wall and replace all of the wood there to keep the wall from collapsing.
As the colony gets larger, you might see bubbles or tunnels just underneath the paint surface of the wall. Look for areas where tiny piles of sawdust have accumulated. This is where the ants have tunneled out of the wall and into your living space. You will want to concentrate your pest control efforts in this area.
Destroying Them
Ant baits do work, but you will need to set out a lot of baits. That is not always feasible if you have children in the house. You will need to place the baits where you have seen ants, but in places where the children cannot reach or touch the poison baits. Sprays only kill the ants you see, not the ants you do not see. Pest control experts are able to kill almost all of the ants within three treatments or less.
Share16 July 2019
Hey, I’m Trinity Bonner. Welcome to my site. I am here to discuss pest control products for individuals and professionals. There are various levels of pest control products on the market today. In the initial phases, individuals can use commercially available products to keep pests out of the home and kill those that invade. If the infestation worsens or continues, it may be necessary to call in a professional to use stronger products to eliminate the problem. I will use this site to explore these products, and their application requirements, in more detail. Please visit my site often to learn more.