How to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants
Best way to eliminate pests is through correct identification, and identifying common household ants can be difficult for most home owners as well as inexperienced pest controllers. The most common ant pests you’ll come across in and around properties in Los Angeles California are:
- Argentine Ant
- Carpenter Ants
- Odorous house ant
- Pharaoh ant
- Pavement ant
- Thief ant
- Red imported fire ant
- Southern fire ant
Today we are going to share insights regarding Carpenter Ants which have been invading Los Angeles properties in large numbers recently.
Carpenter ants are black ( bicolored red and black) in color, and they leave wood residues on the trees where they live. You can easily spot them with bare eyes, and their body is long and slender, making them different from termites with a flat and broad body. Worker Ants are polymorphic and come in different sizes between 1/4" – 1/2" long, however, Carpenter Ant Queen is huge nearly 2cm in size.
Carpenter ants can get inside your home very quickly, and it is challenging to get rid of them if the colony is fully established . If you have seen some ants here and there in your home or garden, but they do not have an established colony, that usually means that they are in search of food or even new nesting spaces, but most importantly, they are nearby. Basically, the best time to deal with them is as soon as you spot them around your LA property.
Unlike their cousins ‘Termites’ carpenter ants do not consume and devour wood, instead they dig for their nest which they then create complex network of tunnels, this as you can imagine can in time damage the structure and in worst cases shift the foundations of the building (home or even commercial properties throughout Los Angeles).
Best Way to Eliminate Carpenter Ants in Los Angeles
Although there are many different approaches you may take to control ant colonies, the best way to get rid of carpenter ants is by calling on licensed and professional pest control experts. Because to successfully eliminate ants from your property you’ll need to understand their lifecycle and living habits. That means, even if you were to kill off few carpenter Ants using pesticides or insect bombs, its almost impossible for DIY’s to identify and destroy the Carpenter Ants Colony.
Maximum Pest Control Services serves Los Angeles surrounding neighborhoods including North Hills, Topanga, Granada Hills, Tarzana, Reseda, Bell Canyon, West Hills, Sherman Oaks, San Fernando, Woodland Hills, Encino, Mission Hills, Chatsworth, Sylmar, Calabasas, Northridge and other nearby areas in LA.
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Carpenter Ant Management and Control
Managing and controlling all types of pests must begin with the end goal, which is, to not let the property get infested in the first place. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) measures should be used as a general property management to ensure pests such as termites and ants do not find the environment ideal to colonize. Our team here at Maximum Pest Control Services would like to share some of the nonchemical measures that can help fend off carpenter ants.
- Since carpenter ants love to nest around dead tree or stumps, first approach to manage them is to trim tree branches and shrubs away from structures to prevent access
- Identify and close off potential entry points such as where utility lines enter the property
- Reduce mulch around building perimeters as well as store firewood off the ground and several feet away from structures to discourage carpenter ant nesting
- Replace decayed or damaged wood and also correct problems that cause decay such as clogged rain gutters or leaky pipes
- Increase ventilation to damp areas such as attic or subfloor spaces
- Remove potential food sources inside the property and store them in tightly sealed containers
Above points are a great to ensure your property is better protected from infestation occurring (both for ants and also for termite invasion). Having said this, do keep in mind that if there is already an infestation in or around your property, the measures above will not be enough to exterminate these insects. The key to managing as well as eliminating carpenter ants is to identify all locations where their colony could exist.
Because inseminated Carpenter Ant Queen will venture out in search of potential new nest sites. As soon as she finds a suitable nesting site, Carpenter Ant Queen will hollow out a chamber, seals herself in and then begins laying eggs. Best way to exterminate carpenter ants is by calling on the expertise of your local pest control company.
Does Natural Remedies for Controlling Ants Work?
You may have come across information for getting rid of ants using natural products, or even some pest control related website suggesting to use:
- Mix sugar and borax
- Use cinnamon to get rid of the ants
- Use coffee to get rid of carpenter ants
- Make a natural ant killer that uses peppermint and water
- Make your own natural ant killer with cornmeal
None of these solutions are an effective pest control measure to eliminate ants. In fact, wasting time with following such approaches will only exacerbate the pest control problem. Instead of using natural organic remedies, consider contacting licensed pest control companies who use environmentally friendly approved pesticides, as well as identify the nesting spaces to destroy and remove carpenter ant’s nest colony. Living in or around Los Angeles and need professional advice?
