Dealing with Carpenter Ants
A common but glaring mistake that homeowners often make, is to ignore signs of a pest infestation, until the problem becomes a lot more severe. Not recommended!
This is particularly true, in the case of ant infestations.
What starts with one or two ants being seen around the house, quickly increases into the hundreds and thousands, which sets the alarm bells ringing.
Of all the ant species to invade structures in Vancouver, Carpenter ants are the most common variety. Mostly black in color, these small ants burrow into wood to make their nests.
The first signs of the infestation is usually winged ‘swarmer’ ants flying around the house or worker ants foraging for food, which may indicate that the colony has matured and are looking to spread and form newer colonies.
But you don’t need to panic. Because as dangerous as they look, Carpenter ants rarely bite humans and they don’t eat wood like termites do.
Once the nesting site is detected, the infestation can quickly be removed with assistance from a professional Ant removal company in Vancouver.
Identifying the problem
One of the first steps in dealing with the problem is to identify the exact species of the anti-invading your house. Although, Carpenter ants are the usual suspects, you’d want to ensure this to avoid wasting time using baits that don’t work.
A carpenter ant is black colored and can grow up to 1 inch in size. The worker ants, which are mostly seen around the house may grow up to 13 mm. While they are mostly black, some are also seen in hues ranging from red to yellow. Workers can be identified by large mandibles near the head.
All said and done, it may seem difficult to identify an ant species if you are untrained.
If you suspect that you have a carpenter ant infestation, but are unable to identify it correctly, then it is recommended that you hire an Ant control Vancouver professional to do an inspection of your premises.
If it doesn’t bite or do damage, then should I be concerned?
Yes. You should. Because even though they don’t eat wood, Carpenters relentlessly chew through the wood hollowing out the structural material in your home. If left unabated, they can quickly cause some serious damage that can cost you thousands of dollars to repair.
Getting rid of the infestation
The first step is to locate the nest in the wall. Carpenter ants take a liking towards old and damp wood and you can find piles of wood shavings near the nest.
Once you locate the nest, make drill holes that are at least 2 to 6 feet on either sides of the opening to the nest. Now you can use an insecticide dust or foam treatment around the holes.
However, if this is the first time you are dealing with a Carpenter ant infestation, speak to an Ant removal Vancouver company and let the experts handle the job for you. You will save time and also get rid of the pests sooner.