Discovering carpenter ants on your property can be highly frustrating. These wood-excavating critters can destroy your wooden structures over time, leading to expensive repair and renovation costs. Their covert style of operations allows them to go unnoticed as they continue to tunnel through your beams, doors, wall voids, and furniture. In fact, their stealthy nature often goes undetected until the damage becomes visible.
Thankfully, our highly experienced team at Big Blue Bug Solutions provides the most effective pest control services in Rhode Island to get rid of carpenter ants, salvaging your investment as well as your sanity. Continue reading to learn more about these minuscule home remodelers and how pest specialists can stop them in their tiny tracks.
Carpenter Ant Behavior: How Carpenter Ant Colonies Function
Carpenter ant colonies form and function through a division of labor and a complex social structure. Typically, a colony begins when a fertile winged female (queen) and one or more males (drones) leave their parent colony to mate. After mating, the queen establishes a new nest, usually within moist or decaying wood, and starts laying eggs. As the colony continues to grow, the queen’s primary responsibility is only to lay eggs.
Workers, who are sterile females, forage for food, excavate tunnels, and care for the developing larvae and pupae. The soldier ants defend the colony from threats, most often other insects. Over time, carpenter ant colonies can become extensive and may consist of thousands of individuals.
For these reasons, it’s imperative to seek out professional pest experts to eliminate carpenter ants in your house to avoid the extensive damage they cause.
The Impact Of Carpenter Ants: Structural Damage And Health Concerns
There’s a reason why professionals place such an emphasis on eradicating a carpenter ant infestation as soon as possible. These insects can cause a considerable amount of damage to your property as well as pose potential health risks. These ants tunnel through wood to create galleries and nesting sites, weakening structural elements over time. Wooden beams, siding, and even furniture are all at risk of sustaining damage due to these destructive insects.
The longer carpenter ants reside in your home, the more extensive the damage and costlier the repairs. Aside from the harm they can do to your property, these ants can also contaminate your food and surfaces as they forage for sweets and proteins. And while they don't transmit diseases to humans, their presence can still pose a health risk by triggering allergies or respiratory issues in some individuals.
It’s essential to get rid of carpenter ants quickly to mitigate these risks and prevent further damage to your property. Give our team at Big Blue Bug Solutions a call to get started on our Rhode Island carpenter ant solutions.
Sealing Cracks And Moisture Control: Carpenter Ant Prevention Tips
Getting rid of carpenter ants is challenging enough, but keeping them away consistently can only be possible with a proactive plan.
Check out some of the best ways to prevent carpenter ants:
- Seal breaches: Inspect your structure for openings, gaps, and cracks, and seal them using appropriate materials.
- Control moisture: Address moisture issues, like leaks and plumbing problems, as these ants are attracted to damp wood.
- Trim vegetation: Keep trees, shrubs, and vegetation away from your home to reduce ant pathways onto your property.
- Store food properly: Place your uneaten food into secured insect-proof containers.
In addition, have your property routinely inspected for signs of carpenter ant activity by qualified professionals so they may take prompt action if an issue is detected.
Professional Ant Control: Eliminate A Carpenter Ant Problem
Professional carpenter ant removal is the best option to eliminate these problematic ants on your property. Big Blue Bug Solutions has more than eight decades of delivering top-notch pest management solutions that our Rhode Island residents can rely on. We also offer long-term prevention strategies to ensure these wood-destroying ants do not return.
Reach out to us today to get started and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Rhode Island.