ANTS
PEST CONTROL
While you may not be intimidated by the small, wingless insects, a single ant queen can spawn thousands of eggs every single day, and homemade efforts to kill them off prove ineffective, as there are still tens of thousands alive in their unseen colonies. So, what’s the deal with ants and carpenter ants? What are the signs of an ant infestation? These bugs are more complex than you’d imagine.
Ants pass through tiny cracks of a household, seeking food or water, and from there, they will nest just about anywhere, including indoors, in lawns, and even under foundations. There are many different kinds of ants, such as “carpenter ants,” which tend to nest in structural lumber, and “grease ants,” which live in walls, cabinet crevices, under counter-tops, and other disclosed areas. Ant colonies can be made up of anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 insects, with worker ants living up to seven years, and the queen able to survive up to 15 years.
To eliminate any insect infestation, you must destroy the nest itself, and the same applies to an ant problem, which can only be defeated by wiping out the entire colony. However, it’s likely there are multiple colonies in your house, well hidden in hard-to-reach places. Home and business owners’ own efforts to tackle the issue usually prove futile, as their methods do not account for the fact that different kinds of ant infestations require different treatments. To control an infestation properly and reduce the chances that the colony can return, it is important to contact a pest control professional. An expert from Squared Away Pest Control will provide an inspection to determine where the nest is located, as well as provide the most effective prevention and control service and recommendations.
These are a few signs of an ant infestation:
Live insects
Large numbers of live insects indicate a problem. If seen in the kitchen or in areas where you prepare food, it should be handled as soon as possible.
Ant pathways
These are sometimes seen leading in and out of your home. Some types of ants will lay down a pheromone trail to a food source. This chemical attracts other ants to find the food.
Ant nest
A nest site resembles a small pile of soil or dirt. In some cases, ants nest in walls or other quiet, dark places, which are more difficult to spot.
Of all Wood destroying insects we deal with, carpenter ants and termites are 1 and 2 in no specific order.
Carpenter Ant Behavior:
In the spring you may see flying ants, These flying ants are called swarmers or reproductives, if you see them around your home don’t ignore them. If this occurs there could be carpenter ant nests in your home or near your home. In the spring if the primary carpenter ant colony is too large the queen ant will push these flying ants out to form a satellite nest. Please remember not all swarming or flying insects are carpenter ants, they could be other kinds of ants or termites! So identifying these flyers is crucial to next step in decision making. Carpenter ants excavate nest galleries in wood, theses nests are frequently hollowed out in moist or unsound wood. Carpenter ants live in the wood, they do not eat the wood.
Signs of Carpenter ant infestation:
Indoor nests may be found in windowsills, hollow doors, porches, baseboards or other naturally hollow areas.. A couple of external signs to look for are small openings on the surface of wood, through these openings, you will see ants coming and going, they also use these openings to expel debris, which consists of sawdust-like shavings and/or fragments of insulation and/or insect body parts. The accumulation of this debris below the holes is a good indication of an active infestation. The gallery walls that carpenter ants create are smooth, with a sand-papered appearance. Active galleries are kept clean of debris.
If you're dealing with carpenter ants in or in close proximity of your home or building, it's best to take proactive measures to get rid of them as quickly as possible.