Watch out: Some species can do some serious property damage
Homeowners often complain about ants in the yard or house. Small but numerous, these pests are hard to control. They can be a challenge for even the best pest control measures. Most homeowners consider the ant a nuisance, but not a genuine threat to their families or to their house’s structure. This may not always be a safe assumption.
As most Brevard County pest control companies will tell you, the sugar ant is actually pretty harmless. Attracted to sweet foods and liquids, they can most often be spot treated with a hardware store spray. Cleaning the spill and checking for and blocking entry points will usually keep these pests under control. Green pest control methods like borax and anise oil can also be reasonably effective for repelling the common sugar ant.
There is a more dangerous species of ant, however, in Brevard. Termite control companies like Slug-a-Bug often get calls about this particular type of ant. The carpenter ant is frequently mistaken for a winged termite and can be nearly as destructive. The Florida carpenter ant and its cousin, the black carpenter ant, are natives to our state and can become quite problematic if left unchecked.
Black carpenter ants are usually large and black. Florida carpenter ants are a little smaller and can range from black to red or even yellowish in color. They typically do not form the long line favored by sugar ant but you may be able to discern a trail if you look carefully enough. They are nocturnal, so you may not see them in daylight hours.
These ants chew on wood and love damp areas like the voids between your walls or floor joist. In Florida, there are few truly dry places in a home so the carpenter ant can often flourish undetected. They chew on wooden structures and weaken them, much like a termite does. These ants are smart, too. The can often detect treated areas before crossing them and find alternative entries into the home. They often have several linked nesting area so if one is treated, they will flee to another. It takes a dedicated and skilled pest control company to find a eradicate them.
Your local Brevard County termite control may be able to help you eradicate a carpenter ant problem. Be sure the company treats not only the inside of the home but the outside perimeter and the yard as well. If even one satellite nest site survives, the colony will rebuild and re-infest.
Regularly scheduled appointments can make treating every nesting site a more realistic proposition.