Carpenter ants are the black ants that you see climbing in and out of holes in trees, dead stumps, and even your house, garage, and other outbuildings. They can cause significant damage to your property. As such, it’s important to be able to recognize the signs of carpenter ants, what attracts them, and how to get rid of carpenter ants in your home.
What Causes Carpenter Ants in the House?
There are a few reasons why one might find carpenter ants in their home. In short, carpenter ants can be found in your home if they’re looking for food or a place to build their ant colonies/ galleries or both.
How Do Carpenter Ants Get in a House?
Carpenter ants will easily make their way into a home either by burrowing in and making holes in the wood. Some can fly, too, during their swarm stages, so you may have carpenter ants because one of them flew into your home or garage.
What Attracts Carpenter Ants to Your Home?
If the wood in your home is softened by fungus or water problems, then you could be ripe for a carpenter ant infestation. The ants like this wood because it is softer than other kinds, so it’s easier to burrow.
They may also come looking for food, so if you see a long trail of ants going to a small hole in the wall, you can be sure you’re providing dinner for their colony. As such, keep food and liquid spills cleaned up and extra food put away. Carpenter ants will also eat some insects, so it behooves you to keep other pests out of your home as well.
Carpenter ant control mostly comes from you taking measures to keep your home pest resistant.
How to Tell if You Have Carpenter Ants in Your Home
Carpenter ants are so named for a reason. They burrow through wood in order to build their nests. It’s that burrowing, however, that is the best indicator of an ant infestation. You’ll know if you have a carpenter ant nest or infestation in your home or garage if you see any of the following signs:
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Small holes in wood surfaces
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Wood shavings that look like sawdust (Look for this below the “mystery holes” in the wood)
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Bits of insulation
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Random bug body parts
How to Get Rid of a Carpenter Ant Infestation
Carpenter ants are attracted to moisture and require a water source to survive. To prevent an infestation of carpenter ants in your home, it is best to eliminate sources of standing water and moisture from in and around your home.
As carpenter ants can be dangerous to your home, it is recommended that you contact a professional pest removal technician like the team at ASAP Pest Control. They will access your carpenter ant infestation and provide the very best recommendations and solutions.
Prevent Satellite Ant Galleries
Ant galleries can get quite large. The ants that create them will also create satellite galleries, which means your infestation may be in more than one place in your home or on your property. If this turns out to be the case, then you’ll want to contact pest control services so that you can minimize the damage these ants will do to your property.
For more information about carpenter ant control, infestations and how to properly protect your home, contact the pest control professionals at ASAP Pest Control.