The weather is heating up again, which means there are a bunch of animals and critters reemerging for the first time this year. Unfortunately, this includes insects like carpenter ants. If you don’t treat these ants in a timely manner, carpenter ants can cause substantial damage to your home.
Identifying Carpenter Ants
These ants are the largest of all ants that invade our homes here in Michigan. They can be easily identified not only by their size, but they have a constricted waist and a defined bend in their antennae. They differ from termites as termites are a milky cream color, they do not have constricted waists and their bodies resemble little torpedos.
Carpenter ants cause more damage in Michigan than termites. It is rare to see a carpenter ant nest as they often are nesting behind walls. Occasionally you might find their telltale piles of sawdust, called ‘frass’ in the immediate area of their nest(s).
Locating and Eliminating the Carpenter Ant Nest
When locating the nest of carpenter ants, you must first determine whether it’s inside or outside your home. There is one key biological factor you must keep in mind when dealing with carpenter ants. These ants are cold-blooded, which means their body temperatures will match the ambient temperature within their nesting site(s).
If you see carpenter ants in your home during the winter months and early spring, it is a foregone conclusion, that the nest is in the house. When the outside temperatures are below 65 degrees, it is too cold for the ants to be foraging for food. However, the temperatures indoors will raise the ants’ body temperatures enough that their need for water increases. Which in turn gets the ants moving around.
In early Spring the sun will warm the exterior walls (and roof lines) of our homes. If the ants are nesting in these areas, they will begin foraging for food and water. This is one reason we see ants in kitchens, laundry rooms, and bathrooms.
The key to treating carpenter ants is to destroy the entire colony. This is not a DIY project. Rather, contact experts with the knowledge, experience, and training for carpenter ant control. The pros at Environmental Systems Pest Control use an exclusive ‘5 step process’ to quickly and effectively eliminate carpenter ant nest(s).
For a free consultation, and no-hassle quote, contact us at (586) 731-2120.
