Carpenter ants are bad news when they invade homes and commercial buildings in Doylestown. Named for their habit of burrowing into wood to build a nest, these pests can be responsible for significant structural damage if they are not stopped.
People sometimes mistake the threatening carpenter ant for the more benign little black ant or another species. This may lead property owners to try to control the problem by themselves, unaware that the issue is probably far larger than they realize.
If people are seeing carpenter ants in their home, office or another building, the time to take action is now. When carpenter ants are being seen inside a building, it is extremely likely that they have a nest somewhere within the structure. However, only a thorough inspection by a pest control professional can genuinely determine whether or not the pests are nesting in the structure or are merely searching for food.
Even if it turns out that the carpenter ants only came indoors to forage for something to eat, the news is not good. The fact that the insects have come indoors suggests that the building is far from pest proof. Moreover, carpenter ants may switch from just seeking a meal to looking for a good spot to put a satellite nest.
Accordingly, it is wise to allow a pest control technician to do a thorough inspection of the structures and the land surrounding them. This will uncover the location of any carpenter ant nests as well as identifying any other pests that may be on the premises.
Next, the exterminator will propose a treatment strategy for dealing with the carpenter ants. Working together with the property owner, it is possible for the technician to eradicate the carpenter ants and make the buildings less susceptible to future infestations.
WHAT DO CARPENTER ANTS LOOK LIKE?
These pests are known as a polymorphic species. That is, the colony's workers are of varying sizes. The colony has only one queen, which does not have wings. A mature carpenter ant colony that has been in existence for two or more years produces female and male carpenter ants with wings. The light brown or transparent wings consist of forewings and hind wings, with the forewings being larger than the hind wings on the males. These pests will mate, with the females going on to establish new colonies nearby. She loses here wings shortly after mating.
Workers are the most numerous members of the colony. They may range anywhere from 3.4 to 13 millimeters long. Although black is the most common color, carpenter ants also may be dark brown, yellow, red or a combination of these hues.
Exterminators are able to differentiate carpenter ants from other ant species by looking at the thorax, which is more rounded in this species. Other distinguishing characteristics include a circle of hairs around the anus and a heart-shaped head. Features such as these require magnification to identify.
WHERE DO CARPENTER ANTS LIVE?
Carpenter ants nest in wood. Although their nests may be found in both dry and moist wood, they tend to prefer the moist wood. This means that carpenter ants are more likely to infest any wood that is dampened by a water leak. Common nesting areas include bathtubs, sinks, roof leaks, inadequate chimney flashing and poorly sealed frames on windows and doors. Other places where a nest may be discovered are wall voids behind dishwashers or the hollow column on a porch.
Frequently, there are no outward signs of carpenter ant damage. This means that it may be necessary to use a screwdriver to probe wood that is suspected of being infested. It also may be possible to tap along a baseboard or other wooden surface with the screwdriver's blunt end. If the wood sounds hollow, this is a certain sign that it is damaged.
Carpenter ants may establish nests in numerous locations, both inside structures and outdoors. Some of these are parent colonies. Mature parent colonies have an egg-laying queen in addition to her brood and 2,000 or more workers. Other nests are satellite colonies, which have hundreds of worker ants but are devoid of a queen and young. It is fairly common for the parent colony to be outdoors and the satellite nests to be located somewhere within the structure. Outdoor carpenter ant nests may be in a tree stump, woodpile or landscaping timber.
WHAT DO CARPENTER ANTS EAT?
Carpenter ants do not eat wood like termites do. Instead, they eat sugar and protein. When they live outdoors, they obtain protein from eating insects whether alive or dead. Sugar mainly is obtained from honeydew.
When carpenter ants live indoors or are at least foraging for food indoors, they will infest meat and pet food in addition to a wide variety of sugary foods like jam, jelly, sugar, honey and maple syrup.
CARPENTER ANT DAMAGE
The good news is that carpenter ants are not quite as destructive as termites. Nonetheless, it is not wise to simply shrug off the presence of these pests. If carpenter ants are not treated, they can still do a significant amount of damage.
These pests seem to live for chewing on soft, moist wood. This could potentially cause thousands of dollars in damage to any structure. It is possible that if the carpenter ants are not taken care of, then the building could suffer extreme structural problems.
Carpenter ants may give away their presence inside a building by leaving behind tiny mounds of sawdust, which is called "frass." If accumulations of frass are seen indoors or around the foundation, this may be a signal that carpenter ants are at work.
ARE CARPENTER ANTS AGGRESSIVE?
It is possible for carpenter ants to bite people. With their powerful jaws, these bites are painful. However, bites are rare occurrences.
Instead, the aggression of carpenter ants comes out in their appetite for tunneling in wood. The more successful their colony, the more it grows, and the more it requires a larger nest. Unless they are stopped, the carpenter ants will never stop excavating.
DO CARPENTER ANTS CARRY DISEASE?
Like other ants, it is possible for carpenter ants to transmit bacteria from their bodies into human food supplies. This can lead to cases of food poisoning. The elderly, the very young and those with compromised immune systems are particularly prone to these illnesses.
HOW TO DETECT CARPENTER ANTS
Signs of a carpenter ant problem include:
• Accumulations of a fine sawdust known as frass on floors • Discovering that wood sounds hollow when it is tapped on with a screwdriver • Rustling sounds emanating from inside walls • Large black ants in kitchens, pantries and other places where food is found
HOW TO PREVENT CARPENTER ANTS
To help prevent carpenter ant issues the following precautions should be taken:
• Eliminating leaks and standing water • Preventing trees and shrubs from contacting buildings • Sealing up cracks and gaps in building exteriors • Replacing water-damaged wood
HOW WE TREAT FOR CARPENTER ANTS
Proper carpenter ant treatment involves the detection and elimination of all existing nests, including that of the main colony and all of the related satellite colonies. Failure to accomplish this will often result in re-infestation. Additionally, the complete eradication of carpenter ant populations is typically not possible with most do-it-yourself products.
As such, successful carpenter ant eradication should be left to an ant control professional.
