Winter is a time when most homeowners in Niagara forget about pest problems, like ants, flies and bees. Unfortunately, carpenter ants may still pose a problem in the colder months. Find out where these pests go in the winter, how to spot signs of an infestation and why you should turn to Truly Nolen for quality pest control in Niagara.

Wintertime Carpenter Ant Colonies

Most insects, rodents and mammals look for a warm, quiet shelter in the winter. Some animals hibernate, while others simply slow down their activities. For carpenter ants, winter is a time to dig deep to stay warm. Carpenter ants typically dig tunnels deep enough to remain warm in these months, but a popular alternative is to find an artificially heated home in your house.

Carpenter ants won’t bother hibernating if they can stay warm in the winter. If you spot ants in your home in the colder months, it’s commonly a sign that you have a colony in wood materials around your home.

Activity in your home in the winter may not necessarily mean the ants have set up a colony in your home, so it’s important to act quickly. Visible ants may have a home dug in the ground near your property, so their presence in your house could be a last-ditch effort to stock up before winter hibernation. Unfortunately, this often leads to creating a new colony or colony addition in your home.

Signs of an Infestation

Carpenter ants may not be as dangerous as termites, but they still pose a risk to wood furniture and structural components of your home. Here are some signs that there may be a colony of ants nearby:

• Small amounts of chewed up wood in your home
• Small holes in wood items
• Ants in the summer

The chewed up wood will look like sawdust. It’s usually very fine pieces, and you won’t see as much damage as a termite colony would cause. This is because carpenter ants only chew through enough wood to make tunnels. If a colony is in your home, it’s kept warm because of your heater. A warm colony can continue to expand, forage and reproduce.

Why You Should Handle Carpenter Ants Quickly

The initial signs of carpenter ants may not feel like a major threat. While no one wants ants in their home, these insects tend to hang around your basement, crawl space or bathroom. Unfortunately, they are also digging holes in wood structures in your home.

A few tunnels may be hardly noticeable, but over time all that chewing, digging and expanding can seriously damage your home. Just like termites, an extensive colony of carpenter ants can compromise your home’s foundation or structural materials in your walls.

A season of slight growth in the winter typically turns into a major expansion project in the spring. Just like other pests, carpenter ants really come alive as temperatures begin to warm. You may find yourself with multiple colonies in multiple areas of your basement, walls and wood outdoor furniture.

Rid Your Home of Carpenter Ants With Truly Nolen

Carpenter ants are used to digging extensive tunnels deep in the earth. Surface-level remedies will do little to halt the spread of a colony. If you notice carpenter ants or signs of these ants in your home at any time of year, it’s time to contact Truly Nolen.

Schedule an inspection with our team to enjoy full-service pest control in Niagara. Our team is highly experienced in identifying, removing and preventing pests in your home and around your property. Take back your home this winter and halt the spread of carpenter ants before they begin dramatically expanding this spring.