When it comes to making sure your home is not damaged by carpenters ants, the first thing you need to do is be aware that you have a problem. While some people think that a carpenter ant infestation is easy to shrug off because these pests often feed on sources that are outside of the home, instead of inside, this is not the case. A carpenter ant infestation is just as serious, if not more serious than a regular ant infestation. In this post, we are going to discuss common misconceptions about carpenter ants and the damage they cause so that you can know what to actually expect.
Since carpenter ants eat wood, you’re going to find sawdust everywhere if you have an infestation, right?
While there is some truth to this, it’s important to know that carpenter ants chew wood, they don’t eat it. While sometimes these pests do push their sawdust (also known as frass) out into obvious locations, this isn’t always the case. For the most part, frass will be found in basements, wall voids, garages, and crawl spaces. This goes to show why you may not be able to see the sawdust that they causing as it will all most likely be located in hidden areas.
Carpenter ants aren’t as destructive as termites so there is no need to worry…
This is a huge misconception. Carpenter ants can actually cause just as much damage as termites under the right conditions.
Termites live and feed inside wood. Since carpenter ants don’t, you will likely see them if they are present…
Actually, many people are surprised to learn that carpenter ants are nocturnal. This means that while they are feeding, you are likely asleep and therefore not seeing them. They are not anything like regular ants that you will see lining up outside of your home. Instead, carpenter ants are much more covert.
Carpenter Ant Prevention
There are several things you can do if you want to try to prevent carpenter ants from infesting your home. They are as follows:
- Have routine inspections for frass in your home. Either you or a pest control specialist can conduct these inspections.
- Make sure that you never store firewood inside of your home for more than two days at a time. When bringing wood inside, make sure that you will be using it in the very near future. Otherwise, let it remain outside until you need it.
- Make sure that any firewood you are storing outside of your home is kept at least 20 feet from your house’s foundation.
- Educate yourself on what carpenter ants look like. These large black and reddish ants have a single node between their abdomen and thorax, which is the main way they are identified by pest experts.
- Know what carpenter ant swarms look like as well. They are relatively big and therefore not hard to miss at all. However, if you need a better idea of what to look for, there are plenty of videos online.
Let a Professional Pest Control Company Help You
If you are not sure whether you have a carpenter ant problem or not, Earthwise Pest Management can help you. We are very familiar with carpenter ants and the damage they are capable of causing. If you would like more information or if you want to schedule an inspection, you should contact us today!
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