SourceDid you know that there are more than 12,000 known species of ants? These ants are further divided into two categories- annoying but harmless and tremendously destructive.
During the warmer months, you may even find your outdoor and indoor space infested by critters in both categories.
As the name suggests, carpenter ants affect and damage the wood that makes up your furniture. Unlike termites, who literally consume wood, these ants chew and excrete to make pathways for themselves and their companions.
Thus, if you are seeing random piles of wood shavings everywhere in your house, there’s a good chance that your house might have a carpenter ant infestation.
But before you find ways to get rid of carpenter ants, you need to know about the potential infestation areas.
● Moist and damp areas
Carpenter ants love to build their nests and colonies in moist wood and furniture pieces that are already damaged by termites or other insects. That’s probably why many carpenter ants are found in rotten or decaying wood in damp areas such as windows, sinks, chimneys, bath traps, and doorframes.
There’s also a huge chance of carpenter ants infestation in hollow spaces such as wall voids or near air-conditioning units.
According to professionals who offer ant pest control services, damp or moist wood provides adequate living conditions for carpenter ants and makes it easier for them to thrive for long periods of time.
They can enter your home through any crack or small opening in the ground. So, it would be best to look for them and seal them shut to limit the infestation.
● Hardwood floors
Carpenter ants are a serious threat to hardwood flooring and can damage your floors at a significantly high rate.
In other words, the infestation might end up weakening the integrity of your hardwood floors. Not to mention, these stubborn ants are really difficult to get rid of.
One of the best ways to check for carpenter ant infestation is to look beneath your flooring. You might also have to look below the ceiling to inspect for potential damage.
In fact, carpenter ants also make noise. All you have to do is tap into hollow surfaces and listen carefully. You can actually hear them chewing and burrowing to determine the infestation.
How to get rid of carpenter ants?
Since carpenter ants are attracted to moist and rotting wood, your best bet to prevent and get rid of the infestation would be to eliminate these sources.
By now, you might have realized that carpenter ants can be anywhere in your house. Their colonies and nest could be hidden within your subfloors, attics, wooden beams, basements, and under porches.
That’s why the fastest and most efficient way to deal with these stubborn ants would be to contact pest control companies.
If treated early, the serious structural problems and damage caused by carpenter ants can be avoided.
In the end,
Besides, you must consider getting regular pest control and control the moisture levels in the house to prevent infestation in your home.
