UNDERSTANDING THE THREAT OF CARPENTER ANTS ON YOUR PROPERTY

Understanding The Threat Of Carpenter Ants On Your Property

Understanding The Threat Of Carpenter Ants On Your Property

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We have uncovered this article involving Are Carpenter Ants Dangerous to Your House? below on the web and decided it made perfect sense to share it with you here.


Getting Rid of Carpenter Ants in Your House
There are tiny harmless ants that grab a crumb or two from your cooking area floor. Nevertheless, there are more ferocious ants that are bent on ruining your residence from the inside and out. These are larger carpenter ants that can damage your foundation. Allow's find out more concerning them below:

Exactly how to Banish the Invasion?


It's not simplistic to kill ants due to the fact that they establish nests. They have soldier ants that look for food and employee ants that follow the path. In addition, the ant queen stays behind in the nest to procreate as well as increase. Hence, this is what you should do to eliminate the carpenter ants:
  • Make a Lure: Set a lure to make sure that the soldier ants can take it back to the nest. This is the simplest way to see where the ant queen lives. You can easily make a sugar lure mix with baking soft drink because all ants are drawn in to sugary foods. Later, cooking soda will naturally kill them.

  • Get Rid Of Scent Trails: All ants rely on these scented tracks to discover food resources. That's why you generally see a lengthy line of ants. Thus, cleaning up surface areas with recipe soap and also water, white vinegar, or important oils like tea trill will interrupt their tracks.

  • Ruin the Nest: When you recognize where the nest is, you can make use of store-bought boric acid to eradicate the ants. You need to duplicate this therapy multiple times to entirely eradicate the nest.

  • Routinely Dispose of Trash.

  • Store Food in Secure Containers.

  • Deep Clean the Home.

  • Sanitize Soft Surfaces.

  • If you don't want to deal with all that trouble, the very best service is expert insect control. Even if you successfully get rid of a carpenter ant nest, you could have more concealing somewhere else. Calling a reliable pest control company can aid you eliminate the bugs as well as avoid them from coming back.

    What Are Carpenter Ants?


    Actually, they obtained their one-of-a-kind name since they like to chomp down on timber from your house's structure to your furniture. Although they do not eat timber the method termites feast on timber; they eat on wood. They also eliminate dangerous stuff to pave the way for hundreds of carpenter ants in their nest. Yikes!
    These ants are also larger, determining 1/2 inches to ? inches in size. Unlike termites, where the major indication is their droppings, carpenter ants damage the timber, leading to random fragments comparable to wood shavings. When you see this, specialist bug control support remains in order.

    Exactly how Do They Invade Your Property?


    Carpenter ants are attracted to wet timber and musty ones. Therefore, if you have actually obtained a leak or dampness issue throughout your house, these ants will penetrate that area. They can easily chew their means into your residence when the wood is pliable and soft.
    Conversely, they can also enter your home by means of cracks, openings, or gaps. Any type of tiny opening where they can press via can be an entrance factor. It does not matter where they are due to the fact that the ants can climb by means of the wall, pipes, cords, or even a branch. Once they clear up indoors, they like to establish their colony near water sources, so look out for these places:.
  • a/c systems.

  • dish washers.

  • sinks.

  • bathrooms.

  • tubs.

  • anywhere with a leakage.

  • Wood Shavings or Sawdust.

  • Outside Residential Property Damage.


  • How To Identify and Get Rid of Carpenter Ants


    Carpenter ants may not eat the wood they chew, but they can still cause a lot of damage to your home. Got carpenter ants? Here's what to know.


    What Is a Carpenter Ant?


    Related to bees and wasps, a carpenter ant (sometimes referred to as a flying ant) is a member of the Formicidae family of insects. Carpenter ants live in large colonies with workers, scouts and a queen. They can be found in wooded areas, suburbs and cities. They are one of the largest and most common ant species in the U.S.



    To the untrained eye, carpenter ants and termites may look alike, but they are not the same insect.


    What Do Carpenter Ants Look Like?


    Here’s how to spot the difference between a carpenter ant and a termite:


    Carpenter ants


  • Measure between 1/2-in. to 5/8-in.;


  • Three body segments;


  • Narrow waist between the abdomen and thorax;


  • Large heads with elbowed (bent) antennae;


  • A pair of wings (backs shorter than the fronts);


  • Dark red, black, brown or a combination of those colors.


  • Termites


  • Two body segments;


  • Wings of equal length and longer than their body;


  • A thick, unpinched waist;


  • Straight antennae;


  • Light in color or transparent.


  • What Attracts Carpenter Ants?


    The first line of defense against an invading pest is to understand what it likes and doesn’t like. Here are the main things carpenter ants are attracted to:


    Food


    Their main source of nutrition is honeydew excreted from aphids they farm. Carpenter ants also feast on the nectar of plants and small insects. Inside homes, they’ll happily eat protein and sugary substances left out on the counters and in garbage pails. In the yard, carpenter ants are drawn to the food in pet bowls and meat juices on barbecue grills.


    Damp and dark places


    Along with hiding in dewy, decomposing wood, you’ll often find carpenter ants colonizing behind dishwashers and air conditioning units, in the backs of moldy cabinets or around leaky pipes.


    What Repels Carpenter Ants?


    On the flip side, here is what carpenter ants hate:


    Dry conditions


    Carpenter ants need a water source to survive and thrive. Eliminating moisture in your home and standing water in the yard is half the battle.


    Strong odors


    Essential oils like lemongrass, peppermint, clove, cedarwood, tea tree and citrus disrupt their scent trails, leaving them dazed and confused. Do be aware that essential oils are not safe for pets, so don’t use them if you’ve got furry friends in your home.


    Signs of Carpenter Ants In and Around Your House


  • Sawdust, insulation or wood shavings on the ground (extermination pros call it “frass”);


  • Visible damage to wood (ruts or groves on the surface);


  • Crackling sounds inside walls;


  • Dead insect carcasses;


  • Shed wings;


  • Seeing the ants themselves.


  • How to Clean Up Carpenter Ant Damage


    If you’ve been seeing the signs of carpenter ants in your house, you know you have some clean-up to do. Use a shop vacuum to clean up any sawdust, insulation, or wood shavings the ants leave behind. Wipe down your surfaces, sweep, or vacuum to remove the shed wings and carcasses. And make note of any visible damage so that you know what all needs to be repaired.

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    How Much Damage Can Carpenter Ants Really Do?

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