Keeping carpenter ants out of a home is crucial. They can cause expensive damage that’s difficult to repair. Just how much damage can they do to your home, and how important is carpenter ant pest control?

Bill for Damages

Carpenter ants don’t eat wood like termites do. Instead, they carve galleries into wood. These are living spaces. Nonetheless, as a colony grows and disperses, it will carve more wood in more places. This can result in expensive damages. These damages can drastically reduce the value of your home. You may think it’s covered by insurance, but most home insurance policies won’t address carpenter ant damage

Carpenter Ant Prevention

Carpenter ants are most likely to infest wood that’s exposed to moisture, or that’s been damaged. Inspect wood in areas or high humidity or exposure to moisture. Carpenter ant prevention is the easiest way to repel them from the home. Seal gaps in the foundation and where pipes come in, seal drips and leaks, and consider investing in a dehumidifier. Carpenter ant prevention isn’t a sure thing, but it can significantly reduce your risks for infestation.

Carpenter Ant Control

Avoid using pesticide sprays at all costs. You may think this is an effective form of carpenter ant control because you will kill many ants you see. What’s dangerous is what you can’t see. As you use the spray, carpenter ants will panic at their losses and spread even further throughout the home. Widening their range into new parts of the home is a defensive tactic that results in even more of your home exposed to damage.

More than this, enough losses and the queen will step up her egg production. You may kill a few carpenter ants, but increase the rate the queen is producing them. This can quickly make your problem worse. Professional carpenter ant pest control can help you. The queen must be targeted and eliminated in order to truly eradicate an infestation. Keeping carpenter ants out of a home is important, but if they’re already inside, you need an expert who can target the queen and eliminate the ants’ means of producing replacements.

Contact Slug-A-Bug for free pest inspection today at 321-259-7844.