Spring is the time of year when carpenter ants (BIG BLACK ANTS) wake from a long winters nap in search of food and new foraging grounds. If your home has been visited by these perennial pests than you know what a nuisance they can be. If your home has ever been infested than you know the damage they are capable of.
The most common “manifestation of infestation” in a home is in an area with a moisture problem i.e.: leaky roof, leaky window, leaky pipe, leaky shower, leaky something! If the wood or void area stays moist, it’s conducive to the ants nesting in it. The first bit of carpenter ant trivia is that carpenter ants don’t eat wood, they only nest in it. Moist wood is easier to excavate and has the necessary moisture to keep the colony healthy.
Other interesting bits of carpenter ant trivia gleaned from university researchers are:
Outdoors they feed primarily on insect honeydew, plant and fruit juices and insects.
If you do all the above and they still decide to ignore your efforts for a peaceful coexistence well…. you can first try one of the over the counter remedies from your local home & garden store. As always you can call on the knowledge and service of a professional pest control company. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Glenn Olesuk is the owner of Graduate Pest Solutions in Hampden, MA. He is a degreed entomologist from the Syracuse School of Forestry and has thirty years experience in residential and commercial pest control. Incidentally, His home did have termites at one time but, we’ll save that for “Termite Trivia”. You can reach Glenn and Graduate Pest Solutions at 413-566-8222.