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If you misidentify the pest, you may not have the right strategy for eradicating it, giving the infestation more time to grow. The vegetation on your property can play a role in whether carpenter ants decide to move in and infest your home. Firewood stacked against the exterior of your home can attract many pests, including carpenter ants. Tree stumps within 15 feet of the perimeter of your home can lead ants to venture indoors.
Identifying carpenter ants
Carpenter ants are a species of ant that get their name from the way they build nests, because they excavate wood and form smooth tunnels inside of the wood. They do not eat wood, they only tunnel and chew through it to create nests. Piles of fine sawdust are a clear sign of carpenter ants in the house and a likely need for carpenter ant extermination. Boric acid is a more concentrated form of the same borax that is used to lace ant baits.
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Carpenter ants tunnel through the wood, but they don’t consume it. Instead, they feed on sugars and proteins, like plant juices and other insects. In a home, they will also happily feed on bread crumbs, honey, jelly and even pet food—all things they might find in a kitchen. As there are many types of carpenter ants and common ants in the United States, it’s difficult for someone to rely on color to identify the exact species of ant. For reference, black carpenter ants are usually black or dark brown, while red carpenter ants have a red thorax. Hopefully, this is the stage in which you detect these wood-destroying pests.
How To Prevent Carpenter Ants From Getting Into Your Home
Before the ants move indoors as colonies expand, remove potential nesting areas near the house. These sawdust piles will mostly be found around trees on the outside of your home and within corners, dark areas, crawlspaces, and around small circular openings inside your home. As these ants walk, they lay down scent trails that allow other ants to follow them to and from food sources. You may need to be patient and follow them back to baseboards, cabinets, doors, or other wooden structures. You may even need to follow them outside if they’ve nested in tree stumps or dead trees.
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Termites, however, actually consume the wood, unlike carpenter ants that merely tunnel through it, leaving behind residue (frass) in piles around the entry to the nest. Any of the above signs point toward a possible carpenter ant infestation. Finding flying ants indoors can be a strong indication of an established carpenter ant colony in your home. It’s crucial to identify and eliminate indoors carpenter ants to prevent further harm to your property. On the other hand, carpenter ant infestations often go unnoticed until it’s too late, becoming a cost-ridden situation that is not easily corrected.
Signs of Carpenter Ants Infestation
For severe infestations, it is important to treat both the interior and exterior of your house. Apply baits indoors in areas where ants are frequently seen, such as kitchens, bathrooms, and near windows. Additionally, continue baiting and spraying the exterior to prevent ants from re-infesting your home. When choosing baits and sprays, opt for a combination of protein-based and sugar-based baits to attract different ants within the colony. Advion Ant Bait Gel and Advance Carpenter Ant Bait are both effective options. Non-repellent sprays like Termidor SC and Phantom are recommended for spraying on the exterior of your home and on suspected ant colonies.
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Regular inspections are key in identifying infestations at an early stage. Look out for signs such as seeing large black ants in your home, finding piles of wood shavings or sawdust near baseboards or windowsills, and hearing rustling sounds within woodwork. Taking prompt action when you notice these signs is vital to preventing the infestation from spreading and causing more damage. When dealing with a carpenter ant infestation, using both baits and sprays together provides a more comprehensive approach. The baits attract and eliminate the ants within the colony, while the sprays help control the ants' movements and prevent re-infestation.
Carpenter ants are most active in the spring and summer months and may be dormant in the winter. These ants excavate wooded areas of properties and make them hollow. Carpenter ants have bent antennae, while termites have straight antennae with bead-like segments. Ants have a constricted body structure with only one segment between the thorax and abdomen. Ants have unequal wings, with the front pair being longer than the other. Carpenter Ants usually come into buildings through cracks around doors, windows, or through plumbing and electrical penetrations in the home.
How Do Carpenter Ants Invade Homes?
During these times, they will venture into your home in search of sweets or moisture. They access your home by trailing along outer wires or cables that lead indoors, or they use a tree that touches your roof as a bridge. A more significant sign of carpenter ants is visible, large ants in your home.
Some people call frass “droppings,” which is accurate since carpenter ant frass and termite frass contain waste products from the pests’ bodies. To the naked eye, though, frass doesn’t look like ant or termite feces. Carpenter ants can also build nests inside rotting wooden structures. You might notice them in a wooden deck, storage building or garage. Another sign of carpenter ants is rustling noises coming from inside the walls or ceiling. You don’t need to worry about your health with carpenter ants, but it is important to address any possible infestation quickly as they can cause structural damage.
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Wood becomes softened when it is affected by water and it rots or starts to decay. If your home’s wood is affected in this way, then it is susceptible to a carpenter ant infestation. Boric acid dust and diatomaceous earth are two effective carpenter ant treatments that can be used in conjunction with other control methods.
And, in our Minnesota service area, one of the worst pests we deal with are carpenter ants. Not that they are more invasive or more destructive than other pests. Carpenter ants don’t chew on the outside of your wood, where you can see them and stop them; they chew on the inside of your wood. And, if you don’t know what warning signs to look for, they can do this for years. Carpenter ants and termites differ physically, with carpenter ants having a pinched abdomen and larger forewings, while termites have a straight abdomen and equal-sized wings.
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