Carpenter ants love damp climates and moist area and nest in those damp locations, like wood that has been damaged by water. They make nests in the floors or walls of your home and search for food through your home. Carpenter ants, unlike termites, do not eat the wood in your home, but are still a problem as they destroy the wood in your home.
Since carpenter ants love damp areas, if your home is located in an area that gets lots of rain you are more susceptible to getting a carpenter ant infestation. Just the same as homes built in heavily wooded areas or in a low, shady place where the ground stays damp.
Where to look in your home? Where is the most water. Look for nesting around a sink, try the kitchen or bathroom, or clogged gutters. Keeping a clean house is always good, but just cause you keep a clean house doesn’t mean you are safe from an infestation. Once they move in they will be looking for food, syrup, honey, jelly, meat, fruit, grease, fat, almost any food will attract them. If your home is spotless from leftovers on the counter, they will find there next favorite on the menu, dead or living insects, ants will eat other insects if they can’t eat your leftovers.
What are a few signs you may have a carpenter ant problem? Trails of workers around the kitchen, pantry and other areas where food is stored. If the nest is large enough, listen for ants, may sound odd but when your night is quiet and everyone else has fallen asleep listen closely. Ants moving around in the nest make a sound that sounds like rustling cellophane, so listen closely. Another sign are flying ants, the flying ants, or ant swarmers, are a huge sign you have a carpenter ant problem.
Where to look? You know they will make nests in damp wood but where do you tend to have the perfect spot? Try dead or living tree limbs, hollow trees, piles of standing wood, tree stumps and roots of dead trees. Also keep your eyes open for nests in your walls, ceilings, attic insulation, and doors. But how are they getting in? Well, they find their way into your home through drains and gutters, windows, doors, mulch around the home, pluming, and even your fireplaces.
What do I do if I have a carpenter ant problem? Well, if the nest was large enough, you may have heard them and found the nest, if that is the case spray it. But the chance of that is not as likely, killing the ants is not as difficult as finding them, sometimes you may not even realize you have a problem till it is too late. The most efficient way to remove your carpenter ant problem is to call us, A1 Exterminators, to take care of your carpenter ant infestation.
Contact A1 Exterminators at 800-525-4825 to help you locate and eliminate any carpenter ant problems you may have.