Residential Customers

Protect Your Home from Carpenter Ants

Carpenter Ant control from Ehrlich

Dealing with Carpenter Ant problems in your Home

Although carpenter ants do not spread disease, they can be a considerable nuisance and can cause damage to your home. Unlike termites, with whom they are commonly confused, carpenter ants do not eat wood but tunnel through it to build nests. Carpenter ants prefer moist wood and wood that is partially decayed but also make nests in hollow voids they find both outside and inside structures. Ehrlich recommends you take immediate steps to address carpenter ant infestations in and around your home.

Carpenter ants, which can be difficult to locate and control, are capable of inflicting damage to structural wood elements as well as the foam insulation often used in home construction.

Recognizing Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants are the largest species of ants found in the United States. Carpenter ants are usually most active during the spring and summer months and they tend to be more active foragers for food at night. They can vary in color but are generally black or dark bodied and range in size from ¼ - ¾ inch in length.

Generally it is in the spring, when winged carpenter ants emerge to reproduce but may occasionally do so at other times of the year.

After mating the female loses her wings and searches out a cavity to lay her eggs.

Carpenter ants feed on living and dead insects as well as just about anything people consume. As nuisance pests their presence and pathway to indoor areas can sometimes simply be to find a food source. Ants may also be carried into homes via infested firewood.

Outdoors they commonly nest in stumps, landscape timbers, hollow logs, telephone poles and cavities of trees.

Inside structures they can establish nests in hollow doors, window sills, roof areas and wall voids.

Typical signs of Carpenter Ants in your Home are:

• Winged Carpenter Ants - emerging from around baseboards, window casings or vents
  
• Noise - the sound of rustling from their nests in wood in your home
  
• Sawdust – as nests become established piles of sawdust appear
  
• Damaged wood – galleries in wood are clean and smooth with a sandpapered appearance

How to keep Carpenter Ants away

As with any pest, eliminating the conditions that are attractive and supportive to them will go a long way in preventing their occurrence.

• Always cover food and store food in containers
• Clean up food and liquid spills immediately
• Seal any cracks and crevices in your home which may be serve as entry ways
• Eliminate moisture problems in and around your home
• Replace any decayed wood
• Store fire wood away from your home and keep it dry and elevated to allow air circulation
• Remove nearby rotting or dead trees

How to get rid of Carpenter Ants

Effective carpenter ant control requires finding the nest which is often difficult for most homeowners. When dealing with carpenter ants it is best to seek out the services of a professional pest control professional to deal with your problem quickly and effectively.

Ehrlich technicians are skilled, experienced professionals – they are state certified, licensed applicators and are required to participate in regular training programs to maintain their expertise. They understand the habits of each species and use that knowledge when developing a control program for your home. They also have respect for you, your home, your family and your time.

At Ehrlich Pest Control, we pride ourselves on fast, responsive service every day. We are always available 24 hours a day for any emergency pest concerns that may develop and all appointments are scheduled at times that are convenient for you, our customer. If you would like further advice or to arrange a visit by an Ehrlich technician, call us free at 1-800-837-5520.