Carpenter ants are slightly bigger than pavement and sugar ants. As a homeowner, discovering the presence of carpenter ants may scare you, especially if you think they can cause serious threats to your loved ones. These ants are not poisonous, thankfully. But they are destructive and can eat away at anything made of wood in your house. Keep in mind, though, that the bites of these ants can still pack a powerful punch.
Although knowing that carpenter ants are not dangerous to your family can give a sigh of relief, your home’s foundation is in danger. These ants love wood and can be destructive like termites. Leaving a carpenter ant infestation untreated can lead to thousands of dollars in structural repairs. Thankfully, pest control Round Rock, TX can help you eliminate an active infestation effectively and prevent your home from being targeted by these destructive pests.
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What to Know about Carpenter Ants
Distinguishing carpenter ants from other creatures is important because they can look similar. These ants can thrive indoors and outdoors. While inside wooden structures, they build their colonies. This puts your foundational support or porch at risk of an invasion. Unlike termites, carpenter ants do not feed on wood. Rather, they just chew on wood to burrow and make hollow areas to nest in.
If water damage exists in your house, carpenter ants can easily burrow into the wood. They can do the same to a rotting tree in your backyard. They like to stay outside but can come inside to get nourishment. Because they do not consume food, these ants look for a nutrition source for their colony. Unfortunately, if these pests find that your house offers what the colony needs, they will begin the nesting process. While they can start as a small group, they can quickly result in an infestation.
What Draws Ants to Your Home
Carpenter ants are omnivorous. They can consume animal and plant-based products. They can dine on plant nectar and small insects. These species of ants prefer eggs, sweet treats, cake, grease from bacon, and meats. Thus, you need to clean up immediately after every meal. Did you know that these ants can smell a crumb up to 300 feet away from your house? Carpenter ants have a keen sense of smell, so you should try not to miss food crumbs.
To eliminate carpenter ants from your home, you need to look for their nest. You do not need to look through the walls since the worker ants are tasked to bring back the food they have stolen from you to their colony. For this job, baits work best. The worker ant will take the bait and bring it back to the nest. Even just by observing, you can locate their nest.
Addressing a Carpenter Ant Infestation
If you are dealing with an infestation, here are solutions you can consider:
- The most effective bait is the combination of borax and sugary substance. The sweets will attract ants while borax will kill them. Mix an equal part of both substances in a dish. Add a little amount of water to come up with a paste. Leave the dish and allow ants to crawl in it.
- Pheromone trail elimination. As ants travel, they leave pheromone trails for the rest of the gang to follow. You can confuse these critters and destroy their trail by eliminating it. The best way to do it is to wipe down surfaces with essential oil or a mixture of water and vinegar.
- Professional service. Because eliminating carpenter ants is overwhelming, you may want a professional team to take care of it for you. Hiring this team as soon as possible will let you save lots of money in damages.
