Carpenter ant infestations can be a major issue for any homeowner, because these ants will damage the wood of the home by building colonies inside of it. To make matters worse, there are certain things that you can do to make the infestations even more damaging. Let’s take a look at the mistakes homeowners make when they have carpenter ant infestations.
Misidentify the ants
One of the best ways to stop carpenter ants before they do too much damage is to recognize when they are in the home. Carpenter ants are set apart from other species due to their size – they are quite large, with their workers reaching lengths of half an inch. When you start to see these large ants crawling around the kitchen, you can be 100% certain that you are dealing with carpenter ants.
Not taking the presence of carpenter ants seriously
It’s important to note that the mere presence of carpenter ant workers in your home does not necessarily indicate that they have built a colony indoors. The workers may be from a colony that’s somewhere in your yard, or on your neighbor’s property. Still, are you willing to take that risk? Once you notice the presence of carpenter ants in the home, it’s best to call a pest control professional right away for an inspection to make sure that you are in the clear.
Attempting to remove the infestation using DIY methods
Carpenter ant infestations are very tough and they can be hard to remove. This is why it’s not recommended that you try to remove the infestation yourself. If the removal process is incomplete, or if it takes too long, the ants will simply replenish their numbers and the infestation will continue doing damage to the home, while you may believe that the infestation is gone. Of course, this will lead to much higher costs in the long run.
A pro will use one of several treatments, depending on your particular situation. For example, one of these treatments is the dust material application, which can be used to cover hard to reach or hidden areas with insecticide and ensure that the poison reaches the ant nest and effectively eliminates them. If you would like to know more about the treatments available against carpenter ants, or if you have an infestation that needs to be removed, contact us today.
