The spring and summer weather in Yardley is just what the carpenter ants prefer. The cool, damp spring and muggy summers create the ideal habitat for these insects. Wood tends to stay moist and become moldy in this weather, which makes it soft and enables the ants to chew through it.
The carpenter ant may look big and scary, but it is relatively harmless. They do not attack humans or household pets. They do bite, but not unless something provokes them. The bite does sting, but only for a short time. The ants even provide a valuable service within the ecosystem. They assist with the decomposition of dead trees.
However, when the ants get hungry, they will not think twice about entering a home looking for something to eat. They are not picky eaters either. The ants will eat anything with beef flavor including cat and dog food. They will also eat anything sweet and containing sugar, including fruit, sugary drinks, and treats.
That is only part of the problem. The big problem is the structural damage carpenter ants can cause for homes and businesses. Homes tend to have some moist, cool places that make an ideal living situation for the ants. Tunnels created by carpenter ants can make supportive beams weak. One nest can hold thousands of ants, and they do not just make one. Instead, there is a parent and a satellite nest. Both nests will need to be destroyed. It is necessary not to ignore an ant infestation. A licensed pest control company will know how to find both the parent and satellite nests and prevent the insects from causing more damage.
WHAT DO CARPENTER ANTS LOOK LIKE?
Carpenter ants are approximately ⅜ to ½ inch long; making them longer than most other ants. The queen ant is larger than the males. The ants do vary in color. They can be black, black and brown, reddish, or some combination of those colors.
They do not have the typical ant body. They only have two body sections; an abdomen and a thorax instead of the traditional three parts. On the abdomen's tip is a circle of tiny yellow hairs. The thorax is an uneven circle in shape. They have relatively large heads and their face is black. On top of their head are two bent antennas.
The winged carpenter ants look similar to regular carpenter ants. They have two pairs of wings. The front wings are longer than the back wings. They too can be dark red, brown, black, or a combination of those colors. They do have a hairy abdomen, round thorax, and bent antennas. The winged ants are looking for a new nest and will lose their wings after they mate.
WHERE DO CARPENTER ANTS LIVE?
Carpenter ants make their home in most, damp locations. They prefer an area with rotting wood because it is easier to chew through to make their tunnels. They chew through the wood to make smooth-sided tunnels. The tunnels contain galleries or chambers for the queen to lay her eggs.
The ants make their nests in hollow trees, logs, firewood, homes, and other wooden structures. Usually, their nests are in direct line with their food source. The ants can travel long distances to find food.
Unlike other insects, the carpenter ants make two different types of nests. The primary nest is the parent colony. The queen, her eggs, and thousands of worker ants live in this nest. The satellite nest is for some of the workers. It is their job to transfer food and pupae between the two nests. The satellite nests are built in a drier location. The eggs do not always hatch well in the damp parent nest. The nests can be inside and/or outside the home.
WHAT DO CARPENTER ANTS EAT?
Even though the ants spend their time chewing wood, they do not eat it. They do not have the needed enzymes to digest the wood. They eat small insects, including cockroaches, termites, and butterflies if they can catch one. The ants will also feed on dead animals and fish. However, most of their meals come from dead insects found on decaying wood, including flies, termites, and cockroaches.
The ants also enjoy sweets. They will eat fruits and drink plant nectar. Unlike some other insects, the ants are not shy. If there is something left of the grill like a piece of beef or fish, the ants will help themselves. Another favorite snack is pet food. Kibble and canned food are high in protein making a good food source. They particularly like beef flavored food. It is not only the pet food that they enjoy. They will raid the kitchen pantry for sugar, honey, syrup, jelly, candy, and other sweet treats. The fruit basket on the counter will also attract the ants, especially if the fruit is ripe.
CARPENTER ANT DAMAGE
Carpenter ants are attracted to wood and most human food making homes a prime target for these insects. The ants do not eat the wood, instead, they bite through it to make a tunnel system. Inside the tunnel system, they make chambers for laying their eggs. If the ants are left alone, they will cause structural damage to homes and other structures.
The support beams inside the home are not the only things subject to damage. Untreated wooden decks or decks with holes and cracks are the perfect places for the ants to make their home. The tunneling could cause the deck to become weakening and collapse.
Carpenter ants can cause internal and external damage. Yardley homes and offices are also prone to damage to fences and other areas of the property that are untreated or poorly maintained.
ARE CARPENTER ANTS AGGRESSIVE?
The ants do become aggressive if they feel their nests are under attack. Though they rarely bite, they will bite to protect their nests. They use a formic acid spray on other insects that get too close to their nests.
HOW TO DETECT CARPENTER ANTS
Signs of a carpenter ant control problem include:
• Seeing the big ants inside the home. • Sounds of scratching or rustling inside the home’s walls or any wooded structure. • Piles of sawdust along the ground, baseboards, door frames, and window sills. • Visible holes and other damage to wood. • Spotting long ant trails in the yard. • Noticing winged ants flying around the ceiling, on the floor, and coming out of other cracks and crevices.
DO CARPENTER ANTS CARRY DISEASE?
Carpenter ants are responsible for a surprising number of health concerns even though they are not known to transmit diseases to people. This is because of the carpenter ants' propensity for ranging far and wide to find food. Their journey takes them to unsavory, filthy places like garbage cans, sewers and animal carcasses. Along the way, they pick up countless germs and bacteria, which they then spread on their subsequent journey. All of these toxins contaminate kitchens and food supplies, and people may become ill from exposure to these substances. Unless all traces of the infestation have been cleaned away and questionable food items have been tossed out, gastrointestinal issues may persist.
The carpenter ants' persistent tunneling in wood also may represent a threat to people who are prone to respiratory ailments. Waste products from the tunneling, which look like small piles of sawdust, may become airborne. As these particles travel through the building's duct system, they become irritants in the breathable air. People with allergies, asthma or related conditions may notice that their symptoms worsen.
HOW TO PREVENT CARPENTER ANTS
To help protect against carpenter ant issues the following steps should be taken:
• Do not stack firewood next to the house or on the patio. Use a drop cloth or something between the firewood and the ground to deter the ants from nesting in the wood. • Trim shrubs and plants back from the house. • Remove infested and rotted wood. Seal any untreated wood. • Keep all food in containers and clean up crumbs and spills immediately. Dispose of garbage in sealed containers. Keep food scraps for composting in covered containers. • Seal all holes and cracks. • Remove standing water from the yard and eliminate moisture from inside the home.
HOW TO 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 a professional ant control provider.
Here at Newtown Termite & Pest Control we recognize that carpenter ants can be a serious problem for Yardley homeowners. For this reason, we utilize a multi-faceted treatment process, which includes sprays, dusts, along with strategic drilling and sealing.
When implemented by our experienced technicians, our comprehensive treatment plan will work to ensure that your home remains free of carpenter ants.
