Your home is your safe haven, a place where you feel completely at ease. However, some unwanted people may be a threat to the safety of your haven without your knowledge. Carpenter ants, which are sometimes called “silent house wreckers,” can do damage without anyone noticing. This guide will show you how to find these sneaky thieves before they damage your property.
How to Understand Carpenter Ants:
Because they can dig through wood, carpenter ants are often thought to be termites. Carpenter ants dig holes in wood to make their homes, while termites eat wood. They like wood that is damp or rotting, which is why you can often find them in basements, crawl spaces, and around windows.
What to Look for in Carpenter Ants:
- Frames: Carpenter ants leave behind something that looks like sawdust. This is called “frass.” This frass is made up of pieces of wood and insect bodies, and you can often find it near where the bugs nest.
- Sounds you can hear: If you pay close attention, you might hear light rustling or tapping sounds coming from the walls or furniture. The ants are making these sounds as they carve out tunnels in the wood.
- Thrown Away Wings: Carpenter ants with wings will come out of their nests to mate during the swarming season. That’s when they shed their wings, which can be a clear sign that there is a carpenter ant nest close.
- Ants That Can Be Seen: Of course, seeing the ants is a sure sign. Most of the time, carpenter ants are bigger than other types of ants. They are also black or dark brown. In the evening, you might see them moving around or inside your house.
- Damage to Wood: Look for damage to the way the wood is built. If you see hollowed out or damaged wood, especially in wet places, it could mean that carpenter ants are living there.
How to Find Nests of Carpenter Ants:
Sometimes, carpenter ants will make mounds, but not all the time. They instead build their nests in wood, usually in walls or structure beams. Look for these signs to find their nests:
- Frass Buildup: As we already said, frass that is close to cracks, crevices, or small holes can be a sign of a nesting site.
- Damage to Wood: Look around your house for places where the wood is weak or broken. Watch out for window sills, door frames, decks, and other wooden buildings.
- Concerns about moisture: Carpenter ants are drawn to wood that is wet or rotting. Because of this, they are more likely to build their nests in places with water leaks, high humidity, or poor air flow.
- Carpenter ants are active at night because they are nocturnal animals. You might want to do your checks in the evening, when they’re most likely to be busy.
How to stop and treat:
Do Regular Maintenance on Your Home: Fix any leaks or problems with wetness, and make sure your home has enough air flow. Carpenter ants will not want to come into your home as much if you do these things.
- Seal Entry Points: To keep ants out, seal any cracks or holes in the outside of your house.
- Cut back trees and bushes. Carpenter ants can get into your home through branches. Get rid of them to make a wall.
- Professional Pest Control: If you think you have a problem with carpenter ants, you should talk to a professional pest control service. They can figure out where the nest is and suggest the best way to get rid of it.
Carpenter ants are quiet, but it’s easy to hear how much damage they can do. With extra care and knowledge of their habits, you can keep your home safe from these “silent house wreckers.” Remember that finding problems early and getting professional help can save your home from major structural damage.
At Ant Control Newmarket, we are well aware of all the risks associated with ants. However, when it comes to ant trouble, no infestation is too big for us. Our technicians are fully licensed and insure and know everything there is to know about ants, right from identifying the species to the proper process of exterminating them.