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How To Protect Your Home From Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants are considered among the best home invaders due to their sheer size and habit of boring into wood. Eventually, they may destroy wood structures, leaving you with thousands of dollars in damage. The repercussions of this can be devastating and it doesn’t take much time for them to get inside your home and start causing trouble.

Carpenter ants are insidious, persistent and love to eat. They can tolerate extremely hot, dry conditions and can eat through wood. The typical carpenter ant is black with a yellowish or reddish abdomen or thorax.

Though the species in the United States that cause most damage are black, their cousins, the native carpenter bees, are white. Carpenter ants often leave a pile of sawdust at a possible entrance. Carpenter bees do not but will burrow holes into softwoods such as plywood.

Block holes in the foundation, exterior walls and roof

You may not be able to prevent carpenter ants from entering your home, but you can keep them from taking up residence. There are a lot of things you can do to keep them from moving in, and you can take steps to make your home less appealing.

Here are some things to look for:

Seal any holes or crevices in the foundation, exterior walls and roof. Inspect the outside of your house for tree branches that touch the siding or roof. Carpenter ants travel from one tree to another, so if they can cross from a tree branch to your house, they’ll probably enter through a hole or crack in the siding or roof.

Look around all windows and doors. Caulk any cracks or gaps where they meet the frame. Repair any damaged screens. Also check electrical and plumbing lines where they enter the house, and repair any damage there as well. If there is water damage around pipes in your basement, get it fixed right away so it doesn’t attract carpenter ants.

Seal cracks around doors, windows and ac vents

There are a number of steps you can take to protect your home from carpenter ants.

1. Seal cracks around doors, windows and ac vents.

2. Store food in airtight containers.

3. Remove food sources by cleaning up crumbs and spills as soon as they occur.

4. Fix leaks in faucets and pipes to prevent moisture buildup that carpenter ants need to survive.

5. Keep mulch at least 15 inches away from the foundation of your home, as the moisture content of the mulch is appealing to carpenter ants.

6. Do not store firewood directly on the ground, as this will attract carpenter ants and other pests.

Fix any water leaks that are near the house

Carpenter ants are large (0.25 to 1 inch long) ants indigenous to many parts of the United States. They prefer dead, damp wood in which to build nests. Unlike termites, they don’t eat wood, but instead remove it by excavating and pushing it out of tiny holes in their nest.

Carpenter ants can easily damage wood used in the construction of your home. Once inside, they can go undetected for years as they slowly cause more and more damage. That’s why it is important to identify a carpenter ant infestation as soon as possible and to use proper tactics to get rid of them and keep them from coming back.

Here’s how to deal with a carpenter ant problem:

Fix any water leaks that are near the house. Carpenter ants need water, so any leaky pipes or clogged drains should be fixed immediately.

Rid your home of food sources that might attract carpenter ants — especially sweet foods or those with high sugar content — including crumbs, open containers and bowls of pet food left unattended. Keep trash away from the house, too.

Trim tree branches or shrubs that touch your home, because carpenter ants can use those as bridges

Remove moisture from your home by cleaning up spills and fixing leaky faucets or pipes

Carpenter ants can cause significant damage to your home, but you can prevent them from getting in. Here are some tips to help protect your home from carpenter ant problems:

  • Remove moisture from your home by cleaning up spills and fixing leaky faucets or pipes.
  • Keep wood piles, compost and other organic matter away from the foundation of your home.
  • Store firewood away from the house and off the ground, if possible.
  • Repair all rotted wood on the exterior of your home.

Store food in sealed containers that ants can’t get into

Carpenter ants are small, but they can cause some serious damage to your home and garden. And since they’re all over the US, it’s worth knowing how to control them.

Carpenter ants will attack any food that has been exposed to the outside air, including:

  • Fresh fruits, vegetables and meat
  • Cereal and other grains
  • Fresh breads and baked goods
  • Fruit juices and soft drinks
  • Cooked eggs and dairy products
  • Prepared foods in jars, such as pickles, jams or ketchup
  • Tobacco smoke or cigar smoke

It’s best not to refrigerate these foods, but if you do store them in sealed containers, you’ll need to keep them out of the reach of carpenter ants. If you keep your food on a high shelf or in a cabinet with a tight-fitting lid, you can also keep carpenter ants away.

Keep surfaces clean

Carpenter ants don’t eat wood. They just excavate it, creating galleries and tunnels to build their nests inside of. This can cause structural damage to your home that is costly to fix. If you notice signs of the pests – such as large, black ants with a reddish-brown head, or sawdust around your house – you can take preventive steps to keep them away.

How To Protect Your Home From Carpenter Ants

1. Keep surfaces clean.

Carpenter ants are attracted to sweet foods and greasy kitchen scraps, so these are often the first places they’ll nest. To discourage them from coming in, wipe down counters and floors regularly and store food in airtight containers.

2. Repair damaged areas of your home.

One of the things that attracts carpenter ants is damp, rotting wood. Check your roof for leaks and make sure water drains away from the foundation of your house. If there’s any damage to the exterior of your house, repair it promptly.

Last Thoughts

The best way to protect your home from carpenter ants is to first inspect your home for any of these mounds and tunnels. If you do happen to find any, the best thing you can do is to contact a professional who can help you get rid of the carpenter ants and then treat your property with pesticides.