If you own a house, it’s likely that learning how to get rid of carpenter ants will help protect your investment. They are one of the most common household pests in North America, and they can be particularly troublesome if they invade your home if you don’t kill, remove or eliminate them. These small insects feed on sweets, so they tend to appear around kitchen cupboards, pantries, and any other places where sweets are stored. They also like to nest inside walls and ceilings, especially if there is trapped moister, so they’re more likely to appear inside a house than in a shed or garage. The good news is that carpenter ant infestations aren’t very resilient – their population tends to decline rapidly when conditions outside grow colder or wetter. Here are some effective ways on How to get rid of carpenter ants in your home.
An effective way to keep carpenter ants out of your home
Seal cracks and entry points. Carpenter ants love to use cracks and crevices to enter a home. One of the best ways to stop them is by sealing off these entry points. You can use caulk, silicone sealant, or a commercially-available ant deterrent, like Advion Ant Gel Bait. If you’re in a pinch for time, you can also place a strip of aluminum foil along the crack or crevice in question. It will serve as an effective barrier that will keep the ants from reaching inside your home.
Ridding your house of carpenter ants
Tighten up your home’s foundation. The first step in getting rid of carpenter ants is to make sure that the foundation of your home is properly sealed up. These insects generally use cracks and crevices as entry points into a house, so you’ll want to make sure that those holes have been filled up. You should also seal any doors, windows, or other openings that lead to your home’s foundation – these are often their most common entry points.
Carpenter ants can also enter through electrical outlets and vents, so it’s important to seal those off too. Once the outside of your house has been taken care of, you can focus on making sure that everything inside is secure. Look for areas where carpenter ants might be entering: kitchens and cupboards are usually prime targets for them – keep these areas sealed with food-grade silicone caulk or putty and check every day for signs of activity. Make sure all other entryways have been blocked off with glue, putty, or caulk too. Finally, make sure all items stored in cabinets are sealed tightly with plastic wrap or containers so the insects don’t have access to them. Remove any sweets from cupboards, pantries, and beyond immediately – these pests like sweets more than anything else!
Carpenter ants thrive in moist conditions
Get rid of moisture. Carpenter ants thrive in moist environments. You’ll have a better chance of getting rid of them if you take action to reduce the moisture level in your home. This can be as simple as turning up your heat during the summer or opening a window during the winter. If you also want to get rid of any other household pests, this is an important step to take. Get rid of excess clutter, clean out food and garbage, and regularly vacuum and dust surfaces so they don’t collect too much dust and debris.
Carpenter ants are attracted to sweets
Vacuum regularly to get rid of these little pests, you’ll need to remove the source of their food. Vacuum regularly throughout your house and kitchen to remove any crumbs of sugar that might be left behind. This will make it harder for the carpenter ants to find a new food source and will help diminish their population.
Carpenter ants can be difficult to catch or eliminate
Carpenter ants can be difficult to remove in the early stages of infestation, but baiting traps are a great way to trap them and remove them from your home. A baiting trap is a relatively small device with a food source that will lure the carpenter ant into entering, where it will get stuck. Then you can exterminate them, so they won’t cause more damage.
To make a bait station for carpenter ants, you should use an empty 1-liter bottle and fill it with sugar water. Put it in one corner of the room or on an elevated surface near where you saw them enter your home. If they enter the bait station, they’ll get stuck as they try to find their way out of the bottle (the smaller size makes it easier for them to fit inside). When they’re trapped inside, you know exactly where to set up a poison bait station nearby so that they die before any other ants come by and feed on their carcass.
You can also use a slow-acting bait that takes 1-3 days to work, such as Advance Carpenter Ant Bait, Maxforce Fleet Ant Bait Gel, Optigard Ant Bait Gel or Advion Ant Gel Bait. These baits contain a sweet substance laced with a toxic substance, like borax, that kills the ants as they return to the colony. If you have pets or children, you can use tamper-proof bait stations. Granular bait can also be a good option, especially in colder months, as it mimics the insect carcasses that carpenter ants eat. However, carpenter ants can be picky eaters, so it’s a good idea to have a few different baits available.
Habitat
Carpenter ant species stay outside and inside mostly in moist, rotten wood, especially in thick forest environments. They make “galleries” in the wood grain to move around from different parts of the nest. Moist parts in a house like under windows, eaves, and porches will be infested by carpenter ants as these areas have the most moisture.
You can mix dish soap and water in a spray bottle and spray it on any of the affected areas. You can also add a few drops of essential oil to the solution to help eliminate their scent trails. Carpenter ants use pheromone trails to find resources and follow each other, so cleaning any surfaces that you’ve seen ants traveling on can help fight them. However, you should never spray insecticide on carpenter ants that are emerging from the nest, as this won’t affect the ants inside and could cause them to spread out.
Food
Carpenter ants are both predators and scavengers. They are foragers that will eat dead insects, insect parts, honeydew made by aphids, or nectar from plants. They also like sugary liquids like honey, syrup, or other juices or any type of sugar will attract them.
Nesting
Carpenter ants build nests to protect their eggs in moist hot places as they need the humidity for their eggs. Their nests are called primary nests. Satellite nests are made once a primary nest has matured. Ants in satellite nests have older larvae, pupae, and also winged ants. Only newly hatched larvae, workers, and the queen reside in primary nests. Because satellite nests don’t have sensitive eggs, and can construct in diverse locations that can be somewhat dry most likely in wood.
