The sole purpose of a carpenter ant treatment is to eliminate a carpenter ant colony from the walls within your home. What many people fail to take into account is that a carpenter ant treatment done by an ant exterminator has a lot to do with knowing construction and how a house is built. Without this knowledge it will be difficult to find and eliminate a carpenter ant colony.
One of the most common places for carpenter ants to set up a nesting site is in window and door frames. The reason for this is that no matter the age of the home windows and doors attract moisture while others just leak. Carpenter ants have the ability to do their greatest damage when there’s a wet void. Aside from the nuisance of having ants this is the main reason for getting a carpenter ant treatment.
The question then becomes: before beginning a carpenter ant treatment, what must be done? Typically a professional will ask questions about where the ants have been seen, how long have you had them and have there been any leaks past or present inside or outside the home. After having the answers to these questions an inspection can begin. During a professional ant inspection your service person will be looking for water damage, areas of live ants, dead ants, a material called frass and of course, water damage.
Once the areas where potential nesting sites have been identified it will be important for the technician to know construction before a carpenter ant treatment can commence. The typical window frame as seen below has approximately 5 different areas where carpenter ants can nest.
They are:
- The framed rough opening on all 4 sides
- Top 2×6 or 2×10 header
- Wall cavity below the window at the stud bays
- The soffit above the window
- Basement floor joist cavity below the window
- Without the knowledge of knowing where to look an exterminator will find it difficult to provide a proper carpenter ant treatment.
Carpenter Ant Nest Found
Once a carpenter ant nest has been found the extermination is actually relatively simple. The process will involve injecting either a dust or flushing agent into the void where the ants are. Both the homeowner and the service provider will know the nest has been taken care of or found as ants will typically vacate the nesting site and die just outside it. In the absence of this happening there may also be a characteristic cracking noise that comes from the area near the colony. Once the crackling stops the problem should subside.
Foraging workers who were out of the nest at the time of the treatment can be exterminated by using a light coating of residual dust at the opening and treating crack and crevices around the nesting site.
Carpenter ant control can be difficult, but not impossible.
If you have ants call Envirocare Pest Control at 1-888-879-6481. We can help.