Our Approach to Carpenter Ant Control
Why are carpenter ants in my home?
In nature carpenter ants live outside in dead or decaying trees and act as one of nature’s decomposers. Carpenter ants do not eat wood, but rather create “galleries” in wood to lay their eggs, larvae and pupae.
But carpenter ants may come into the home when foraging for food and water, or they may come into the home to create a satellite nest.
Carpenter ants typically will only form a satellite nest inside the home if building material in the home has been water damaged, or previously compromised.
How do i know if carpenter ants have created a satellite nest in my home?
Typically when carpenter ants have formed a satellite nest in a home, ants will be plentiful, with multiple carpenter ant sightings everyday.
Also often there will be tell-tale signs of water/moisture damage such as cracked paint and drywall, condensation on window panes, mold on window frames and tracks. It may require a trained eye to identify the source of moisture.
An occasional stray carpenter ant in the home is not always indicative of an infestation as worker ants can travel long distances to forage for food and water.
What does carpenter ant treatment look like?
The best treatment to resolve a carpenter ant infestation in the home is a “void injection treatment” with a dust/spray or fog product, applied directly to their nest
Once a suspected carpenter ant nest is treated, carpenter ants will release pheromones to alert other carpenter ants of danger, and carpenter ants will scatter away from the treated area, at which point they can be vacuumed up.
Because ants will scatter upon “void injection treatment”, it can be helpful to identify whether suspected areas are in fact carpenter ant nests.
^Click to see carpenter ants after void injection^
What if their is no satellite nest, or it cannot be located?
If there is no satellite nest, or it cannot be located, an interior spray or dust treatment can be performed along baseboards with a product with a strong “transfer effect”.
When ants come in contact with a spray or dust with a strong “transfer effect”, the product will stick to the ant’s body, and when they return to the nest, the product will transfer to other ants killing the entire colony.
In addition a gel bait treatment can be a useful adjunct treatment or in situations a spray or dust cannot be used.
How to prevent carpenter ant re-infestation ?
Once the carpenter ant colony in the home is eliminated, it is crucial to remove any water damaged (or carpenter ant damaged material) and address the root cause of the water damage, to prevent re-infestation from occurring.
For some homes this may require installing additional flashing or downspouts to redirect water from the roof, or repair/replace a leaking shower pan in the bathroom.
In addition, regular exterior spray barrier treatments will prevent carpenter ants from entering the home and re-establishing their colony.
