Carpenter Ants

What Are Carpenter Ants?

Carpenter ants are tiny insects with two antennas, six legs, and a body divided into three connected parts. They vary between red. Brown, and black, with more being the latter. Traveling in colonies, carpenter ants can be seen in long lines of hundreds if not thousands. They travel along pathways, walkways, lawns, and empty fields. There is also the occasion where these insects can be found inside building structures, where they will spend most of their time building nests, foraging for food, and reproducing. While only a small insect, the carpenter ants have a powerful mandible that is utilized to gnaw through wood and wooden structures. The debris is then utilized to create nests. The queen carpenter ant can grow up to 5/8” in length while the worker carpenter ant measures between 1/8” and ½” in length.

What Signs Point To A Carpenter Ant Infestation?

There are several signs of a carpenter ant infestation. These include the following:

• Visual Sightings – Carpenter ant colonies at work are very easy to detect. In fact, they are very easy to spot in areas where the household members have their meals and snacks.
• Trails Of Sawdust – Carpenter ants gnaw through wooden structures, such as walls, floors, and trim. The byproduct of the gnawing is sawdust “frass”. This is an obvious sign of a carpenter ant infestation. The larger the sawdust pile, the more carpenter ants involved.
• Audible Signs – Carpenter ants at work can be heard when in close proximity. By placing your ear on a wall where you believe they are located, you should be able to hear them hard at work inside your walls.
• Swarmers – Carpenter ants with wings are known as “swarmers.” They spend most of their time foraging for food. If you detect these carpenter ants in your kitchen, dining room, or family room, it is a sure sign your home is infested.

Why Is My Home Infested With Carpenter Ants?

There are several factors associated with indoor carpenter ant infestations. These factors include available food sources, a warm environment, and easy access points. If your home has these resources, it will be targeted by carpenter ants. While these insects prefer the outdoors, they will utilize every opportunity to access the indoors through tiny cracks and crevices. When a colony of carpenter ants accesses a building structure, they left their colony behind to forage for food and other essential resources. Carpenter ants utilize access points near windows, doors, plumbing pipes, and electrical wiring.

Are Carpenter Ants Harmful?

Carpenter ants are not known to carry diseases that spread to humans. They are more of a nuisance insect than a health threat. However, these insects are notorious for structural damage indoors.

How To Eradicate A Carpenter Ant Infestation?

Carpenter ant infestations are extremely difficult to fully eradicate. Even if you think the infestation inside your home has been eradicated, it is crucial to not forget about the larger colony outdoors. When you eradicate the colony indoors, there is always the risk of a few members of the larger colony outdoors to take their place. This is like a revolving door that makes carpenter ant eradication extremely difficult without the proper extermination tools, pesticides, and experience.

Does DIY Extermination Work For Carpenter Ant Infestations?

It can, but the odds are extremely low. As previously mentioned, carpenter ants that venture indoors are part of a larger colony outdoors. Most homeowners lack the proper equipment, skills, time, and patience to fully eradicate a carpenter ant infestation utilizing DIY pest control. Of course, it never hurts to give it your best shot. At least, this would be better than doing nothing at all. However, if you want to maximize your effort, we recommend hiring us to do the job, so you do not have to.

When Should I Expect The Exterminator To Arrive At My Home?

We can generally dispatch a licensed exterminator out to your home within 24 to 48 hours of your initial pest control request.

Is Carpenter Ant Infestation Treatment Harmful?

Not when administered by an experienced technician or exterminator. Chemical-based pesticides do contain toxins that pose some health risks to humans and animals when improperly administered. To minimize or eliminate these risks, our extermination arsenal is EPA-approved pesticides. The products have been deemed “safe” by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which is why we would never utilize anything else.

How To Prevent Future Carpenter Ant Infestations?

Once a building structure has been compromised by carpenter ants, its pest barrier is vulnerable to future infestations. The solution is our carpenter ant management, which includes routine visual in-home inspections followed by immediate treatment when necessary. We will work with you to rebuild the damaged pest barrier around the perimeter of your home. We will educate you and your family member to ensure they know the ins and outs of a carpenter ant infestation and how to prevent them year-round.

If you have any other pest control issues please check out other services.