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Are Carpenter Ants Still Active?
October 31, 2018
With autumn in full swing, you’ve probably noticed that it’s more pleasant to spend time outside than it was a couple of months ago. The temperatures are not as severe as they were and all the insects that were big annoyances back in July and August have all but disappeared. In some instances, this is a good thing. No one is ever sorry to say goodbye to mosquitoes, for instance.
However, in some cases when bugs disappear, it doesn’t mean they’re actually gone. Fall is the time of year when all kinds of creatures are looking for a warm, safe, and food-filled place to wait out the winter months. Unfortunately, sometimes the place they find is too close for comfort.
One such insect is the carpenter ant. Carpenter ants are the large ants you sometimes see outside during the summer. They are usually black. As their name suggests, these busy insects enjoy working with wood, but trust us when we tell you that they are not the kind of workers you would ever want to hire.
Carpenter ants do not eat wood, but they do build their nests in it. When they’re outside where they belong, they’ll look for moist or rotting wood, typically in forested areas, and they are beneficial to wooded areas, helping with decomposition. However, if they get into your home while looking for a warm place to spend the winter, they’ll settle for whatever type of wood they can find, water-damaged or not.
The way carpenter ants build their nests is by chewing tunnels through wood structures. While one little tunnel through a piece of wood doesn’t sound like such a big deal, when you consider that carpenter ant colonies can grow quite large and branch off into multiple colonies, you can see where all those tunnels could become a problem, eventually making your home unsafe to reside in.
Whether you’ve seen carpenter ants around or not, there are certain measures to take to prevent them from entering your home this fall.
First, keep your entire property as moisture-free as possible. Fill low areas of your lawn that collect standing water. Keep gutters clear of debris. Create good drainage systems. Fix all water leaks immediately and repair any water-damaged property.
Second, keep food sources to a minimum. Carpenter ants eat other insects, so maintaining good pest control for all types of pests will help you avoid carpenter ants as well.
Finally, inspect the outside of your home for possible points of entry and fix any problem areas. These include holes or cracks in your foundation and siding, gaps around windows, doors, and AC units, holes in screens, and openings in vents, soffits, and chimneys.
If you notice carpenter ants inside or outside your home or if you see small holes in wood structures and sawdust below those holes, you may already have a carpenter ant problem. By getting in touch with Montgomery Exterminating, you know you’ll receive a thorough inspection and a customized plan to treat the problem. Don’t wait until the damage to your home is so extensive that it becomes unsafe. With the expert help of Montgomery, you can avoid the damage before it even starts.
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