How to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants - 4 Simple Steps

Carpenter ants are considered as the most difficult pests to deal with. It takes a lot of knowledge, experience, and time to successfully exterminate these destructive insects. These ants are bigger than regular ants. They are also often confused with termites. To help you identify, carpenter ants are larger than termites and their antennae are bent. They are blackish in color. Also, carpenter ants do not leave a mud-like material when they damage wood.

Carpenter ants like to live in moist wood. They often build their nests in wood dampened by water leaks. Interestingly, carpenter ants do not eat wood. The damage they create is due to their building of nests. They tunnel through wood and make galleries. Even though the damage caused by carpenter ants are often less sever compared to that of termites, they can still wreak havoc in your house and cause structural damage. If you want to save your house, read on to learn more about carpenter ants and how to get rid of them.

Before you do anything, you have to make sure that carpenter ants are really present in your house. Here are signs you can look for to help you determine whether carpenter ants are lurking in your home.

• Army of ants – If you see swarms of ants in your home, there is a huge possibility of nesting.
• Trails – When damaging wood, carpenter ants may leave trails of sawdust. If you see sawdust in an unlikely area, carpenter ants brought them there.
• Rustling sound – Try tapping wood surfaces with a hard object. This will disturb the ants and cause them to make a rustling sound.

Now that you are positive that carpenter ants are in your house, you are ready to kill those pests. But before you give a call to a professional pest control agent, you can try these steps on how to get rid of carpenter ants.

1. Locate their nests. The first step to eliminate carpenter ants is to determine where their nests are. Simply spraying ready-made treatments on the ants when you see them won’t completely eradicate the problem. By locating their nests, you can formulate plans and determine which step you should do next. Carpenter ants have been found to follow scent trails. You can use this to your advantage by setting up traps. Try putting dabs of diluted honey onto a masking tape and leave it on suspected areas. Do this at night because carpenter ants are most active at this time. After the carpenters ants have eaten the honey, follow them towards their nest. The key here is patience. This can become annoying and frustrating but this is the most important step to get rid of carpenter ants.

2. Use boric acid. Boric acid is widely used to exterminate various pests. It is also effective in getting rid of carpenter ants. Dust boric acid in nooks and crannies. You can also treat hidden spaces in your house by drilling small holes and dusting boric acid.

3. Watch out for outdoor nests. If you follow the first step above, don’t be surprised if the carpenter ants lead you outdoors. Carpenter ants may choose to build their nests outside your home. They may reside under a log or on a pile of wood. After you have discovered their nest, spray it with an insecticide. If a nest is found outdoors, it is also suggested to check the foundations of your house or any part of your home close to the nest. There may be other nests located in these areas.

4. Prevention. The best way to get rid of carpenter ants is to prevent having them in the first place. There are certain measures you can observe to reduce the likelihood of having problems with carpenter ants.

• As mentioned earlier, carpenter ants like to live in wood dampened by leaks. What you need to do is correct roof and plumbing leaks to reduce moisture.
• Avoid stacking piles of wood. This will just serve as another possible nesting area for the ants. If you can’t completely remove piles of wood in your home, try to elevate them so they’re not in contact with the ground.
• Cut tree limbs. There may be limbs that are in contact with the sidings of your house. These serve as bridges and lead carpenter ants towards your house.

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