Keep Carpenter Ants Out of Your Home

Carpenter ants are a common, widespread problem for homeowners in Arizona. Larger, and typically black, these ants get their name from their love of damp, dead wood. By hollowing out sections of wood, carpenter ants create galleries in order to move through their nests and your home.

So, how do you keep carpenter ants out of your home? 

Proper Identification

The most important step to eradicating your home of carpenter ants is to make sure your invaders are, in fact, carpenter ants. The last thing you want to do is spend energy, and money, on remedies that simply won’t work.

By working with Budget Brothers Termite & Pest, you can be sure that you have properly identified the offending invaders. Some baits and pesticides work on specific species while they are harmless to others. So it’s important to correctly identify which species is in your home. 

Carpenter Ant Damage

Carpenter ants don’t eat the wood they nest in, they merely chew tiny grooves into the wood which allows them to navigate and move throughout their nests. Which is why if the ant infestation is left untreated, the infestation can grow quite severe. Thereby causing significant damages to the interior wooden structures of your home. This will result is widespread, and costlier repair needs within your home. 

Signs of Infestation

If you have a carpenter ant infestation, you will likely find evidence of frass or piles of wood shavings around affected areas of your home. The presence of worker carpenter ants are a tale-tell sign that these destructive invaders may be making a home in your home.

Keep in mind, these worker ants may have simply entered your home looking for food and water, not to make a home. It’s important to work with Budget Brothers Termite & Pest as we have experience identifying potential intruders and tracing worker ants back to existing nests. 

How to Keep Carpenter Ants Out of Your Home

There are a number of home remedies that can help you to control and eradicate carpenter ants in your home. If your ant problem is in the beginning stages, carpenter ant baits are an excellent choice for preventing disastrous infestations. As the ants forage for food and water, these baits are carried back to the nest where the entire ant colony will be poisoned.

If baiting isn’t quite getting rid of your invading pests consider adding insecticides and pesticides to your arsenal. A high-quality treatment around the perimeter of your home will effectively stop your home invasion. 

Prevention and Treatment

Effective prevention can eliminate the potential for infestations. Here’s what you should know.

1. Make sure your home is free from excessive moisture like leaks and plumbing problems. Damp, moist environments will attract ants.
2. Seal any cracks and openings in your home’s foundation, especially around utility pipes, windows, and wires. 
3. Keep a well-maintained and neatly trimmed lawn. Remove any dead wood and standing water from your surrounding area. 
4. Thoroughly inspect any firewood or building materials arriving on your property. Be sure to keep firewood stacked as far away from structures, as well as, elevated. 

Trust the Professionals

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the invasion of carpenter ants, it’s time to call in the trusted professionals. Budget Brothers has been helping our valued customers keep their homes and property pest and termite free for over 25 years. If you are experiencing problems with carpenter ants, give Budget Brothers a call today!