There’s no way that ants can cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage each year across the US, right? While that is true for most species, carpenter ants are in a category of their own. These ants can cause serious damage to the home if they are not removed quickly.
Why carpenter ants are dangerous
While carpenter ants do not pose much of a health threat, they are capable of seriously damaging the home. This is because these ants will build their colonies inside of wood. The infestation will start out small, with just one queen, but that queen will add more and more workers over time, and as the colony grows it will spread out. Not only that, but the main colony will also start building satellite colonies in nearby pieces of wood, so if left unchecked, the colony can spread to many parts of the home. Extra satellite colonies will also add to the difficulty of removing the infestation.
Carpenter ants vs. termites
Carpenter ants can hold their own against two termite species – drywood and dampwood termites. While these termites do cause more damage because they actually consume the wood that they infest, carpenter ant colonies grow fast enough that they are able to cause comparative damage to the home.
However, the undisputed kings of home damage are the subterranean termites. These termites are not limited by having to build their colonies inside the wood that they consume. Instead, they build their colonies underground, and spread out to pieces of wood as needed. This allows their colonies to grow extremely large, and by the time they target a piece of wood, they can deploy thousands of workers at once. Meanwhile, carpenter ants and the other two termite species will have to start a colony from scratch with every new infestation.
Getting rid of carpenter ants
Carpenter ants will cause tremendous damage to a building if left unchecked. This is why it’s important to eliminate an infestation as soon as you start to notice the first signs that it is present in the home. In most situations, the best way to do this is to work with a pest control professional, in order to ensure that the infestation is removed fully.
Contact us today for more information on how carpenter ants are prevented and controlled, or if you have a carpenter ant infestation in your home.
