When carpenter ants arrive at a home, they won’t sound off a trumpet announcing their arrival report Monmouth County, NJ pest control professionals. Carpenter ants serve as excellent outdoor decomposers of fallen trees and branches. They feed upon plants, insects, and fruit juices that are typically plentiful outdoors. Carpenter ants will however move into a structure when worker ants find water damaged wood or when they are on the hunt for a good water source as carpenter ants must have a good amount of water to survive.
Carpenter ants are sneaky pests which will initially send a few scouts to check out the territory. Once it is considered to be desirable, carpenter ants will arrive in full force and begin to set up a satellite colony. Unlike termites, carpenter ants do not eat wood. They do however carve out distinct galleries and tunnels which they use for travel, food storage, and for nurseries for their young. Over time, the extensive damage to wood by the constant chewing of carpenter ants will cause damage to the structure that carpenter ants have invaded.
Carpenter ants are most likely found in framed homes and buildings that do not have a basement as the concrete slab sitting on the surface of the ground does not provide an adequate deterrent against these pests. Buildings that have high moisture levels will attract carpenter ants indoors. Home and business owners should regularly check for water leaks as well as wood shavings or dust that is discarded from the tunnels and galleries that carpenter ants create.
Like some other hard-to-treat pests, carpenter ants are not a pest that should be treated without the help of a licensed pest control professional. Allison Pest Control provides excellent treatment for carpenter ants and other pests in Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex Counties in New Jersey.