Signs You Have a Carpenter Ant Infestation

What Causes a Carpenter Ant Infestation?

Carpenter ants like to base their nests in and around wet, rotting wood. Typically they live in the woods where damp wood (AKA housing) is plentiful. That doesn’t mean they don’t live on your property, as most homes have some variation of trees, shrubs, or decaying wood stored around their yard. In their search for nourishment, they can easily find their way into your home. Meats, starches, sweets, any any other tasty morsel or crumb that they may be able to get their little hands on.

The carpenter ants may forage for food up to 200 yards away from their main nest, though they do create satellite nests near their food sources so the main infestation may not even be in your home. Remember, even if you see one, it’s probably collecting food or hundreds more! A carpenter ant queen can live for 15 years and have thousands of babies in her lifetime, so it’s best to take care of the problem before an infestation can escalate.

How Can I Identify a Carpenter Ant?

• Carpenter ants are large and usually black, ranging from ¼” to ½” in length.  While they typically feed on insects and plants, they also forage for food inside people’s homes. This is why it’s important to call Boz Pest at the first sign. Even if you’re not sure what kind of ant you’re dealing with, we’ll be able to tell you!
• Carpenter ants hollow out trees and wood structures to build their expansive nests.  Any building near a forest or with a tree in the yard can become a location for a carpenter ant nest. Other ants may choose to nest in the earth.
• Keep an eye out for piles of wood shavings near your property. While carpenter ants don’t actually eat wood, they do burrow into it.
• If you think that they’ve made it into your home, you can press your ear up against the wall to try and hear their little feet crawling around.

How Can Boz Pest Help?

If you’ve got an ant problem on your hands, you can have peace of mind knowing that Boz Pest Control can handle an infestation of any size. When you call us for carpenter ant removal, we offer:

• Information gathering: The first step in eradicating your carpenter ant problem is to find out as much as possible about where the ants are coming from and where they may be nesting.  Once we have this information, we will drill small holes to flush out the nest.
• Chemical treatment: We treat the outside of your home by spraying the baseboards and perimeter of your home with Termidor, a potent insecticide formulated to kill carpenter ants on contact.
• Bait Gel: Bait gel is child and pet safe, but deadly for carpenter ants.  The worker ants eat the bait and take it back to nest to share with the others.
• Prevention Tips: We take pride in sharing simple tips that can help a homeowner prevent carpenter ant infestations from recurring in the future.  After the initial treatment phase, we will help you keep your home ant free for years to come.

If you have seen these unwelcome pests in your home, call Boz Pest today! 

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