Do you need to learn how to get rid of carpenter ants? Have you noticed large, black or reddish brown ants in your home? Chances are you have a carpenter ant infestation. These ants are some of the largest in the United States, with clear and distinct mandibles. Let’s take a closer look at how you can deal with this annoying issue.
Where Do Carpenter Ants Live?
They love moist places, whether indoor or outdoor. Favorite outdoor locations include decaying or hollowed out trees or logs. This is also why they could be infesting your home—if you have any rotting wood in your structure, it makes a perfect habitat.
Carpenter ants actually build their nests in the wood grain by channeling out furrows to lay the eggs. They don’t eat wood, but they remove wood to make the nest. If you see lots of wood shavings and dead ants, that is a sign you have a nest.
Inside a home, we mostly see these nests on an exterior wall, such as a garage, where wood might suffer exposure to prolonged moisture and as a result, has begun to rot. Unfortunately, carpenter ants use this as an excuse to expand their town! The parent colony contains the queen and eggs, but when space there becomes limited, these ants actually build satellite colonies for the worker ants and larvae.
Over time, the ants can build several satellite colonies. The queen can live up to 25 years. Every 6 to 12 weeks, there is a new brood of ants, so you can see how this pest infestation can quickly get out of control. Just like so many pests, carpenter ants love people food, and will eat everything from meats to sweets! They also eat other insects.
Signs of an Infestation
Most homeowners notice worker ants looking for food, or they see the winged swarmer ants. When you see the winged ants, that indicates you have a very well-established colony lurking somewhere in your home. These ants are large. In fact, sometimes homeowners even hear the ants rustling around in the wood!
Treating a Carpenter Ant Infestation
Once we find the nest, we can remove it or treat it with chemicals. We also resolve the moisture problem so you don’t have future issues. When we find these nests early, you can avoid serious structural damage. Since these ants are so prolific, we advise a professional treatment rather than trying to fix the issue yourself. These ants can easily rebound and resume damaging your wood structure.
The Think Green Promise
At Think Green, we’ve got a great reputation, and adding pest control to our extensive lineup of services provides you with even more options for solid, impressive service. Our experts have proper training in appropriate pest control techniques and can rid your home of pests as quickly as possible. We care deeply about your well-being, and we want you to be comfortable. We can facilitate this by ensuring you don’t deal with carpenter ants on your own!
Don’t let pests make you shudder with dread. Look to Think Green for high-quality pest control in Alpharetta, Cumming and Suwanee, Georgia. Call (844) 648-2556 at your convenience to learn more about our pest control services to get rid of carpenter ants for good.
