From time to time, nearly everyone will experience an ant infestation in their home. Commonly more of a nuisance, these insects raid our houses in search of crumbs and other edible delights as well as delivering obnoxiously annoying pinches they inflict. Out of the ants likely to invade your Southern California home, carpenter ants top the list. They are in the habit of excavating wood to build their nests, unlike termites who also eat the wood they tunnel through. But similar to termites, they cause extreme and costly damage to the structure. Animal Pest Management Services would like to take the opportunity to further elaborate on carpenter ants.
Carpenter Ant Identification
Carpenter ants range from 1/4–3/8 inches long and are one of the largest ants in the United States. Though they can potentially be red, yellow, orange, yellowish tan or light brown, they are more commonly shaded from jet black to dark brown. Large mandibles are features on worker carpenter ants.
Where Do Carpenter Ants Live?
Moist, decaying, or hollow wood, both outside and inside attract carpenter ants. In galleries excavated from damp or damaged wood is the preferred area they establish their colonies. They will cut galleries, or tunnels, into the grain of wood in order to create their nests and provide passageways for movement from section to section of the nest. Unlike subterranean termites that line their galleries with moist soil, carpenter ants keep their nesting site clean, and these galleries are smooth, almost as if they been sanded clean. Carpenter ants will also take over dead and living trees, stumps as well as rotting logs in natural environments, however, the wood in buildings are equally susceptible to carpenter ants, especially if had moisture exposure. Because they do not eat the wood, small piles of saw dust looking pellets are often found where they removed the wood from their galleries. Like most ants, they have a weakness for sweets and meats and will often forage human scraps for good. If necessary, the carpenter ants include other insects in their diet.
Signs of Black Carpenter Ants
Signs of carpenter ant include the following list below.
1) Seeing the swarmers (reproductive carpenter ants) that have wings flying around the house, or lines of workers excavating tunnels or foraging for food are among the more obvious signs. After it a colony matures, swarmers leave to begin a new one. If you are seeing the swarmers, there is an established in close proximity.
2) As they carve their tunnels in the wood, debris is another indicator. Parts of dead ants, potential discarded wings, and wood shavings, similar to sawdust, are included in the debris.
3) Within the wood, people can sometimes hear faint rustling sounds from their activities.
Ant Pest Inspection, Control, Removal & More in San Bernardino, Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside & San Diego Counties, California
It is vital that should you suspect you have carpenter ants in your home, you can in professional pest control to ensure effective elimination as quickly as possible, otherwise you can be facing excessive and costly damages. If you believe carpenter ants are infesting your home, call Animal Pest Management Services and let our certified specialists eliminate them.
