Carpenter ants are one of the more dangerous and damaging insect species that can infect your home. Like termites, they will chew away at any wood they infest, tunneling inside it, and compromising its structural integrity. This is why it’s important to get rid of carpenter ants as soon as possible, and that you do not make the following mistakes:
Misidentifying the species in the infestation
If you start to see wood shavings on the floor, or that the wood is starting to look damaged, you have to make sure that you identify the right species responsible for the infestation. You could be dealing with either termites or carpenter ants, and each one requires a different approach to treatment. The best way to do this is to look for ants inside the home or on your property. If you notice them scurrying around, then odds are you are dealing with a carpenter ant infestation, since termites will never leave the wood that they infest.
Ignoring an ant infestation
If you see an ant in the home, it’s easy to just overlook the issue, since ants are generally nothing more than nuisances. However, if you do this, and the species in the infestation is the carpenter ant, then you open up your property to a lot of damage. This is why it’s important to get rid of the infestation as soon as you notice it.
Relying solely on DIY
DIY can be effective at dealing with most ant species, since you can trace them back to their colony and then use insecticides to clear it out. However, since carpenter ants nest inside the wood itself, it can be a lot harder to get rid of them. Kill-on-contact insecticides are not very effective in this case, so you will have to rely on baits, but even baits can have their issues if they are not applied properly. On top of that, the last thing you want is to go through with the DIY and only partially get rid of an infestation, because the colony will recover and the ants will continue to do damage to the home without you knowing.
Sometimes, the best course of action is to call a pest control specialist who will inspect the home in order to determine the species of the infestation and then thoroughly remove it before extensive damage has occurred. Contact us today if you suspect that you have a carpenter ant infestation.