Massachusetts Carpenter Ants
Carpenter Ants got their name from the way they build nests by tunneling through wood. Carpenter Ants are found throughout the New England area and have been known to infest entire buildings. They are among the largest types of Ant in the US and can normally be found in moist or decaying wood. These type of ants don’t have stingers but do have a bite that can be very painful.
Protect Against a Carpenter Ant Infestation
Carpenter ants regularly build nests in wood that is rich with moisture. Carpenter Ants can be found all over the place in New England. The most common places we have encountered them are within attics, crawlspaces, wall voids or trees.
If you have a Carpenter Ant infestation on your hands you may see them in large numbers going back and forth from a food source to their nest. Other signs of a Carpenter Ant Infestation include finding small piles of sawdust and dead insects or seeing the swarmers flying around while they mate.
A Carpenter Ant infestation has the potential to cause serious damage to the structure of your home and property. If left undisturbed they will continue to expand their nests, damaging the wood and any other material that your home is made of. Branches of trees with Carpenter Ant nests in them can also become threats to fall if the ants are allowed to continue their nesting.
How to Identify Carpenter Ants
Carpenter Ants are commonly found in New England. The ants are a gray-black color and the workers range in size from a half to a quarter inch long. The large black ants have yellow hairs on their abdomens that can make them easy to identify.
Colonies of Carpenter Ants can range in size from a thousand ants up to more than 10,000. The easiest way to locate a Carpenter Ant infestation is to find the nest. It is best to call an experienced Pest Control service if you need help locating and removing Carpenter Ants.
Carpenter Ants Can Severely Damage your Home
The most common place to find a carpenter ant infestation in your home are areas where wood has been softened. Areas that South Shore IPM finds Carpenter Ant colonies most often are under a house’s siding, in decking areas or below wooden stairs. The ants will build their nests by chewing off tiny pieces of wood to create a tunnel into the wood. They will then begin to expand their nest by branching outward from the central tunnel. If left untreated the nests can grow very large and complex, threatening to damage the structure of your home.
Carpenter Ants have been known to eat almost anything and are almost always foraging for food to bring back to the colony. They eat the most food during the fall as they prepare for overwintering in their nest. If you find a Carpenter Ant colony on your property it is best to get it removed as quickly as possible to avoid it becoming a long-term problem. Call South Shore IPM today to learn more about how we get rid of Carpenter Ants on the South Shore.
