It's Spring! Here Come the Ants
Springtime is a welcome thing in the northeast. After months of dreary, cold, and sometimes stormy weather, it will be nice to finally have a mild climate again. Unfortunately, humans are not the only ones who see it this way. Pests like ants who have survived the winter become active again in the spring. Let's take a look at the spring re-emergence of ants and what homeowners can do to protect their property.There are an estimated 20,000 plus different species of ants worldwide. The specific species we need to be concerned within our little corner of the world are Pavement ants, Black House ants, and the insidious Carpenter ant.
Identifying the Carpenter Ant
Our focus today will be mainly on the most damaging of these three - the Carpenter ant. These wood-chewing pests look like their Sugar or Pavement ant cousins, except bigger and darker. They're typically brown or black and about � an inch long.Like many other ant species, the Carpenter ant is eusocial, which means they live in a colony where members have specialized roles and characteristics. There are three social castes of Carpenter ant: workers, drones, and queens.Worker carpenter ants build and expand the colony by cutting into and excavating wood to make galleries through it. Usually, the wood chosen is moist or rotting. Drones and queens are larger than workers and have functional wings during mating season. Queens lay eggs to populate their colonies, and swarmers leave the colony to form new satellite colonies. Drones and queens only swarm in mating season, which typically occurs in early spring.If you have noticed ants going in and out of wood structures around your yard such as decaying tree stumps, sheds, or worse yet, your wooden siding, then take action immediately. A professional pest company can treat and evaluate your Carpenter ant problem before the wood becomes structurally unsound.
Carpenter Ant Motivation
Most pests that find their way into a home or structure are typically looking for food, water, and shelter. This is not exactly the case with this particular type of ant. Carpenter ants do need to stay hydrated and they want shelter, but there is a twist.When most homeowners think about ants, they probably are envisioning the kinds that are invading their kitchen looking for crumbs of food or spills on the floor. Carpenter ants get their protein and hydration from the wood that they excavate to build their nests. They are not eating the wood but tunneling through it.Carpenter ants feed on protein and sugar, primarily by foraging for aphids, live and dead insects, and honeydew. Your home is not much of a source for these items but your home does have wood, and some of it may be the decaying, moist kind that they like.
Prevention is the Key
Wood management is the key to preventing a Carpenter ant infestation in your home. Start your prevention strategy by looking around your yard. Are there rotting stumps, trees, or bushes that could be removed? Is the firewood stored away from your home and preferably elevated off the ground? Have you inspected your wood siding to be sure the paint is in good condition and ensured there are no soft or rotting sections?All of these conditions could invite Carpenter ants. Removing the motivation of these pests to settle in is a huge step in prevention. In addition to inspecting outdoors, you will want to check inside for moisture build up, especially around wood structures. Fix leaky pipes, and protect wood that comes in direct contact with the ground.The good news is that Carpenter ants work at a slower pace than termites so if you find that you have an infestation, you may be able to remediate the problem by extermination before you have to replace wood structures.If you find that you have ants of any species in your home, contact us for an inspection and treatment plan that could save you from having to replace wood framing or supports in your home.
