How to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants
Nobody likes unwanted house guests. That goes double when they arrive in groups. When you’re talking about several thousand of them… well, frustration is an understatement when describing your feelings on the subject. Carpenter ants are particularly troublesome pests. In the United States, the black carpenter art is the most prevalent type of carpenter ant. They range in size from one to two centimeters. Black carpenter ants nest in wood. In the natural world, this includes the trunks of dead trees. When they come into contact with us, though, they nest in the wood that makes up our homes, including the foundations.
Keeping Dry
Carpenter arts prefer to nest in locations with lots of moisture. Damp, dead wood is their natural habitat. As a result, it stands to reason that removing moisture will drive away the ants. Locate areas around your home where moisture tends to build up, such as around gutters or drains, and find ways to divert the water that collects there away from your home.
Commercial sprays
Household insecticides can be helpful in assisting the eradication of a carpenter ant infestation, but they probably won’t get the whole job done. Carpenter ants dig deep into the wood that makes up your home, and the sprays will only go so far. Spraying the outside of your home after the ants have moved in is like taking out their suburbs – you need to get downtown.
Going to the source
The males of a colony will go in search of sunlight, so spotting them and following their patterns backwards will usually point you toward the location of the colony. A number of pesticides are available, including diatomaceous earth, which is a type of rock that breaks apart into dust. The material is so dry that it literally sucks the moisture out of the ants’ exoskeleton, which causes them to die of dehyrdation. This is a very natural way to go about pest control. Care must be taken when handling it, however, as it can dry out your skin just as easily as it does the ants.
Calling in the pros
When in doubt, you can always call on professional help. Commercial pest control companies might be your best bet if the infestation is large. This is usually a multi-step process, since it can take multiple treatments to get to all of the ants in the colony.
By using these methods, you can help ensure that your unwelcome house guests don’t stay for very long!
