| By :
Nick Messe
How many times have you come across a pesky little ant in your home? Normally, you just squish the little bugger and move on. However, carpenter ants can do some harmful damage to your home. Here are some tips on how you can identify these little pests, what kind of damage they can do, and why it may be best to hire a professional pest control company to handle this problem. Carpenter ants are scientifically known by the name of Genus Camponotus. The tiny creature got its name because of the way it bores out nests in wood. Carpenter ants are normally black, but can also show shades of red and yellow. They are normally around a quarter of an inch to three-eighths of an inch in length and their antennae has twelve segments. They sometimes have colonies of up to 3000 worker ants, and while they are known for boring their way through wood, their diet consists of other insects and human foods, especially sweets and meats. These ants usually live for around 7 years, but the queen will actually survive for around 25 years. The best ways to tell a carpenter ant from other ants is by their evenly rounded upper surface and waist that has only one node. Now that you know what they look like, you will need to know what kind of damage they can do. Carpenter ants have the ability to eat through the wood of your home. This is not because they are hungry, but rather in search of a place to nest and raise their young. These ants also prefer wood that has been moistened already. This means the section of your house that they are eating through has likely been in a state of disrepair for some time already. Carpenter ants not only live in wood, however. They are happy with any secluded place that is warm and humid enough to protect them from predators, meaning you can also find them in things like seldomly used garden hoses, fence posts, and curtain rods. You can tell damage done by carpenter ants by the appearance of the damage. The galleries they build are very smooth on the inside, which is different than the shoddy look presented by beetles and termites. These ants can cause damage that can effect the structure of your entire home, which is why you will want to consider using an extermination services company. Having a professional insect control ant and bug expert handling your situation will likely be the best way to manage your carpenter ant problem. This is because finding the source of the problem can be tricky, even for a professional. A pest control expert will be able to figure out just the right place to administer the proper insecticide to get rid of the problem for good. Most store bought products will only result in a temporary solution, while a company providing extermination services will be able to get rid of the problem once and for all. The damage that can be done by carpenter ants should not be taken lightly, and is a problem that an expert in pest control can take care of permanently.
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