Blog
Carpenter Ant Prevention And Control
7/19/13
Ants are generally considered the number one pest problem in the U.S. and with good reason; they enter the home foraging for food and make themselves a nuisance in every room of the house. Even more annoying than your typical little black ant house invader is the carpenter ant; this ant will actually enter the wood inside your home to tunnel out galleries in which to build its nest! Not only are carpenter ants annoying, but they can cause serious structural damage inside your home and if you have these pests inside your home or buildings, you need to get professional ant control immediately.
There are a few different species of carpenter ants, but most are between 3/8 and ½ an inch long and are black or a combination of red and black. They have narrow waists with one node and their thorax has an evenly rounded upper surface (which can be obvious when the ant is looked at side-to). Carpenter ants have bent antennae and if they are winged carpenter ants, the wings in the back are shorter than the wings in the front. They have three different castes within their species: the workers, the soldiers and the reproductives. This means there are ants that go out and search for food, there are ants that protect the nest and there are ants that do all the reproducing; the reproductives are the queens of the colony. You can find carpenter ants in moist or rotting wood in old trees and tree stumps, logs or boards on the ground or inside homes that have moist or decaying wood. Once an infestation begins inside a house, it is likely that carpenter ants will move on to the sound wood.
Carpenter ant prevention is a good way to control a carpenter ant population as well as keep additional ants from making your home their own. To prevent a carpenter ant infestation, it is necessary to eliminate the environment that these ants need. You can do this by:
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Removing water damaged or decaying wood from your property and replacing it with fresh and undamaged wood.
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Fixing leaking pipes and/or appliances.
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Correcting any ventilation issues.
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Eliminate areas of high moisture that may be contributing to wood decay inside your home.
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Store firewood as far away from your home as possible.
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Remove dead trees and shrubs from your property, as well as old stumps and roots.
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Don’t allow branches or bushes to touch the sides or roof of your home.
These prevention tips can help deter future carpenter ant problems and can assist in any current infestations you may be experiencing. But when you have a carpenter ant problem inside your home, prevention is only part of the solution. To fully eliminate the population inside your home, you must have help from a professional pest control company. They have the knowledge to eliminate a carpenter ant problem fully to protect your home from the expensive damages they can create.
If you are in need of carpenter ant control in Pittsburgh or surrounding areas, look no further than the professionals at Witt Pest Management. The carpenter ant control solution at Witt can help identify the problem areas inside your home and kill any carpenter ant populations that may be present. They can even give you options for protecting your home from future carpenter ant invasions.