Identifying Carpenter Ants: Physical Characteristics And Behaviors
Carpenter ants are some of the largest ants in Austin. Typically, carpenter ants measure anywhere from ½ to ? inches long. Their bodies are usually black or brown, but they can also be red or a combination of red and black.
While carpenter ants have several distinguishing features that allow you to identify them easily, many homeowners cannot spot them because they typically stay in their nest during the day. Unlike other ants, carpenter ants prefer to forage for food at night. It's not impossible to see carpenter ants during the day, but it's not as common as other ants. Instead of looking for the ants themselves, some people look for signs of carpenter ants to determine if they have an infestation.
Some of the most common signs that you are likely to see if you have an ant infestation include:
- Small piles of sawdust on the ground
- Small and smooth holes in wooden surfaces
- Rustling sounds in wooden beams and other wooded areas
In every carpenter ant colony, there are reproductive ants. These ants are in charge of populating the colony. When the colony gets too big, many winged ants will fly away from their nest in search of a mate. Once they have found a mate, they will discard their wings and start their own colony. You may have carpenter ants on your property if you see carpenter ant swarmers or tiny, white wings lying around your window sills or near your doors.
Carpenter Ant Problems: Health Concerns And Structural Damage
Carpenter ants get their name from their ability to cut and dig through wooden surfaces easily. Unlike other ant species, carpenter ants don't build ant mounds on the ground. Instead, they build their nest directly inside a piece of wood. Because they live inside the wood, many people mistake these bugs for termites. However, unlike termites, the carpenter ants don't eat the wood. The damage caused by carpenter ants is much more gradual than the damage caused by termites, but carpenter ant damage can still be severe.
When a carpenter ant decides to build their nest on a wooden surface, it will excavate the wood to ensure it can accommodate all of the colony's members. As the colony continues to grow, the nest will become bigger, which means the wood will become more hollow. If your home has a severe carpenter ant infestation, your home could sustain extensive damage, including structural damage.
Professional Assistance: Vital To Total Carpenter Ant Control
Carpenter ants can hide in the deepest darkest parts of your home. For this reason, it can be challenging to locate and eliminate the ants. Also, many do-it-yourself carpenter ant controltreatments are not strong enough to effectively eliminate carpenter ants. Instead, the products will cause the ants to retreat further into their nest, which could cause the infestation to become more severe.
The best way to eliminate carpenter ants from your home is to team up with a professional pest control company. An experienced ant control expert will know the right way to eradicate and prevent carpenter ants around your property.
Prevention Is Key: Tips To Prevent Carpenter Ants From Coming Back
Once you have eliminated the carpenter ants from your home, you will need to take proactive steps to ensure they never return. At Aries Pest Control, we are your one-stop shop for ant control. Not only will we eliminate carpenter ants from your Austin home, but we can also schedule recurring treatment plans to prevent these destructive bugs from ever coming back to your home. Give us a call today to get your free quote and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Austin.