While finding ants in your home might not be something completely out of the realm of possibilities, there are some ants that you never want to find there. One of those ant species happens to be carpenter ants. They can cause significant damage to your home if you don’t get rid of them as soon as possible. However, it is hard to know when you’re dealing with carpenter ants if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Effective Pest Services is here to help you identify carpenter ants so that if you find them in your home, you can work quickly to get rid of them.
How Do I Know if I have a Carpenter Ant Problem?
There are several characteristics of carpenter ants that are unique to that species specifically. Here are some things to look for:
– Ant Color: A carpenter ant will be either black or brown. Sometimes, you might find one that has a bit of a orangish hue to it, but you can count on them being extremely dark in color. Most of them are usually black.
– Size of Ant: This is the largest ant species in North America. Carpenter ants aren’t going to be small like the other ants that you see around your home. These ants are going to be about ½ inch long most of the time. That is considerably larger than other ant species that you would normally see in your home.
– Ant Body Shape: Carpenter ants are often confused for termites. However, they have a different body than termites do. For instance, they have a pinched waist rather than a straight body. They also have a bend in their antennae rather than straight ones like termites. They also have two different sized sets of wings while termites have two sets of wings that are the exact same shape and size.
When Should I Be Worried About Carpenter Ants?
If you have carpenter ants in your home, there will more than likely be some signs that they are there.
– Ants: The ants themselves are often seen if you have them in your home. They will be foraging for food because they don’t actually eat the wood they live I’m.
– Wood Shavings: Because these insects don’t actually ingest the wood they build their nests in, they will push out the wood shavings that collect as they build galleries to nest in. If you notice piles of wood shavings, you might have a carpenter ant problem.
– Sounds: You might be able to hear them rustling around behind the walls in your home if the infestation has gotten large enough.
Ant Pest Inspections, Exclusion, Control, Removal & More in Wellington, Fort Collins, Timnath, Greeley, Longmont, Boulder, Johnstown, Berthoud, Estes Park & Loveland, CO | Northern Colorado
If you have a carpenter ant problem on your hands, you can turn to Effective Pest Services to help you get the problem under control. We know how these insects behave and will effectively remove them from your home. Call us today!
