What Carpenter Ants Look Like In Jacksonville Homes
Nov 8, 2018
As a Jacksonville, Florida homeowner, you probably take steps to keep your home safe from intruders. Maybe you have a security system. Perhaps you’ve installed safety lights. At the very least, you have locks on your doors and windows. It’s important to keep your home safe for your family.
However, some intruders aren’t deterred by security systems or flood lights or even locked doors. Some home invaders get inside without even being noticed. Not only do they get in, but they also remain in your home, setting up their own residence within your walls.
These intruders, of course, are not humans. These intruders are carpenter ants.
Carpenter ants are the large ants you sometimes see walking around outside. They are typically black in color, but can also be red or tan. When they live in their natural habitat of wooded areas, they are quite beneficial to the ecosystem. They help rotting wood decompose, which can rejuvenate forested areas. When they get into your home, however, they can cause a lot of damage.
How They Get Inside
Carpenter ants are nocturnal. While they travel around looking for food, they may end up inside your home. They enjoy eating fruits and other sweet foods, making your kitchen a potential food source.
They may also find their way to your house if you have water-damaged or rotting wood near, on, or in your house. This can happen anywhere in your home, but carpenter ants are especially likely to invade if you have water-damaged wood around your windows, under your deck or porch, or around the eaves of your roof. In other words, areas that are easily accessible from the outside.
How to Spot Carpenter Ants
Although they prefer rotting wood, carpenter ants will also chew through sound wood, which means that once they get into your house, they are likely to stay there. They don’t actually eat wood but instead chew through it to dig tunnels and build nests inside the wood.
If you notice small piles of sawdust and then upon further inspection see small holes in the wood, it’s a good indication that carpenter ants are present.
If you see the ants themselves inside your home, it is very likely that you have a carpenter ant infestation.
The Trouble With Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are dangerous, not because they pose any health risks (they don’t), but because, if left untreated, they can cause structural damage to your home. Once carpenter ants move in, they can work 365 days a year, digging holes, building nests, growing their colonies, and compromising the structural integrity of your home.
To make matters worse, it can be very difficult to notice a carpenter ant infestation. You may have a problem for a very long time before even recognizing that it exists. Because of that, by the time you do notice it, it may be so advanced that your home might have extensive damage already.
What to Do About Carpenter Ants
As is the case with many things, prevention is the best treatment. Lindsey Pest Services uses an Integrated Pest Management approach when it comes to treating for ants. We inspect your property to check where ants may be active and building nests and evaluate any problems we find to determine the most efficient means of ant control. If we do find colonies, we’ll eliminate them and can continue with ongoing maintenance to prevent further infestations if you so choose.
Whether carpenter ants are currently a problem for you or not, Lindsey Pest Services can help you protect your home. Contact us for more information about our residential pest control options.
