Carpenter Ant Facts In Jacksonville

If you have not been properly introduced to the carpenter ants in Jacksonville, there's no time like the present. Carpenter ants are unique among ants in that they have the ability to damage the wood inside man-made structures.

Today, we're going to share with you some facts about carpenter ants that every Jacksonville property owner should know. These facts will help you to identify carpenter ants, assess the threat, and choose the right control strategy for your property. If you have urgent need of carpenter ant pest control in Jacksonville, you can easily reach us through our contact page and we'll send a pest professional out to take a look.

How To Identify Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants in Jacksonville are red and black or entirely black. Workers range in size from ¼ to ⅝ of an inch in length. There are minor workers and major workers in a carpenter ant colony. If you're able to examine a worker under magnification, you'll see that it has one node between the thorax and the abdomen (you might call that the waist of the ant). Winged carpenter ants are twice as large as workers. They can be around an inch long, depending on the species.

Carpenter Ants Destroy Wood

Now that you know how to identify carpenter ants, let's discuss the damage they do. Of the two colorations we mentioned, the carpenter ants that are entirely black are the worst. Black carpenter ants are widely considered the most destructive. So, when you see black carpenter ants in your home, how nervous should you be? Here are a few facts to consider:

• Carpenter ants don't damage wood quickly. It takes time.

• Carpenter ants prefer wood that is rotting. If you don't have a lot of rotting wood, these ants are not going to do as much damage.

• If you are on top of doing routine inspections to catch changes in wood or carpenter ant frass in your home, you may be catching these ants early.

• If you find carpenter ant swarmers on your Jacksonville property, there is a greater cause for concern because a nest takes years to produce these winged ants. But the damage could still be minor. Have a licensed pest management professional take a look and see what you're actually dealing with.

While it is certainly important to get rid of carpenter ants when you detect them on your property or in your home, you don't need to fear these pests. Carpenter ants require certain conditions to do severe damage. These conditions may not be present.

DIY Treatment Doesn't Work

The big concern with carpenter ants in Jacksonville is not that they can damage man-made structures, it is that property owners can use DIY treatments and think they've solved their ant infestation problem when they actually haven't. This allows carpenter ants to continue to cause damage. If you have black carpenter ants in your home, you definitely don't want to make this mistake.

Why do DIY treatments fail to get rid of carpenter ants or cause property owners to think the ants are gone? Consider the following:

• Property owners use topical sprays that don't get into the wood where carpenter ants hide.

• Some species prefer protein baits and some prefer sugar baits. When incorrect baits are used, it can result in bait aversion, which makes the issues worse.

• Property owners don't use methods to effectively evaluate the success of treatments and ensure that all the ants are gone.

• Carpenter ants are nocturnal insects, so you may not see them after treatment.

• Carpenter ants don't need to eat food in your home, they have plenty to eat outside. So you may never see them inside after treatments.

Carpenter ants can be tricky to treat and difficult to detect. You may not get obvious warning signs, such as carpenter ant frass in your home or carpenter ant swarmers on your Jacksonville property.

Professional Ant Control Is Best

At Lindsey Pest Services, we use residential pest control methods that work to evaluate the success of carpenter ant treatments and we make sure no ants remain in your home. Reach out to us anytime to schedule service. This is the best way to deal with carpenter ant problems in Jacksonville.