Black Carpenter Ants
There are many varieties of carpenter ants throughout the World; However, the only species that resides inside of homes in the New England area are the Black Carpenter Ants, or Camponotus pennsylvanicus. Black Carpenter Ants ¼ -½ -inch in size. Black Carpenters have an evenly rounded thorax, a single node, and a circle of hairs at the tip of the abdomen. Black Carpenter ants are nocturnal, so knowing there existence in your home comes down to observation of their tunnels in your home’s wood like windows, doors, hollow wall voids, usually in damp areas. Call us when you notice their home, because if you notice them by seeing them crawling around your home, chances are a colony has already been established in your house.
Carpenter Ant Colonies
Black Carpenter Ants colonies are called ‘galleries’, and mature within three to four years, with swarming occurring in late spring. There are two types of colonies, parent & satellite. When parent colonies become mature, they contain and egg-laying Queen, brood, and 2,000 or more worker ants. Satellite colonies are when there are a large amount of workers, yet the nest does not contain a Queen, larva, or eggs. Carpenter Ants can travel 100 yards from their nest in search for food. Often when you see a Carpenter Ant wandering in your home, it is foraging for food, which is why you will not see a large number of them.
Prevention of Nesting
To prevent Black Carpenter Ants from infesting your home so that you don’t have to call us in the future, we have some tips. Make sure to remove all stumps, logs, and waste wood within 100 yards of your home. Do not allow vegetation, especially evergreen shrubs and trees to be in contact with the house. Store firewood away from the house and bring it into the house only when needed. Keep wooden parts of the house dry by making necessary repairs to roofs, flashing, gutters, and downspouts. Replace any water-damaged, decaying wood. Carpenter ants will not infest wood that has moisture content of less than 15 percent. Keep exterior wood surfaces painted and sealed. Seal holes through which pipes and wires enter the house. Place a moisture barrier over soil in crawl spaces and under wooden porches, and provide adequate ventilation for such spaces.
Our Strategy of Extermination
How we get rid of your Carpenter Ant problem is by locating and eliminating all of the ants’ nests. The parent and satellite colonies must be destroyed or the ants will reappear in a few days. The repair of structural problems and replacement of damaged wood should accompany the elimination of nests. Nests outside of the building will be treated with an insecticide. The application of insecticide sprays, dusts, or baits to areas where the foraging ants may come in contact with them will eliminate the colony. Insecticides are applied as an outside perimeter treatment, and only one treatment is required.
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