Homeowners who are used to fighting off lines of tiny black ants moving across their countertops may be shocked to see a new specimen invading their privacy: The carpenter ant. Though these big ants are common in North America, their presence inside a home in Canada can be alarming due to the fact that they are much larger than the average house ant. Read on for more information about carpenter ant control in Waterloo including the danger these creatures may pose to your home as well as when you may see them out and about.

What Do Carpenter Ants Look Like?

First, it’s best to properly identify the pests in your home. Carpenter ants can cause termite-like damage to wood, and they love to make their nests in cool, dark places such as your crawl space and other wood-filled areas of your home. Unlike termites, these ants do not eat the wood, but they do use their strong jaws to burrow through it, making an intricate series of tunnels for their nests. They enjoy living in damp and even rotten wood to maintain their need for humidity and a just-right temperature. To identify a carpenter ant, look for the following traits:

• Red or black in colour (or a mixture of both hues)
• A segmented body that occasionally includes wings
• At least a quarter of an inch in length
• Possible proximity to a nest of other ants in a damp, wooden area

It’s not common to see the carpenter ant nest before you notice a stray ant here and there inside your home. If you do see the nest, though, act fast and call a professional pest control service. The queen can lay thousands of eggs which will one day become more ants that will damage additional areas of your home.

When Might I See Carpenter Ants?

If you noticed your ants in the springtime, it’s possible that they just arrived — but it’s not likely. Carpenter ants often come out of hiding in the spring after being dormant throughout the winter. They emerge in warm weather to mate, to look for food, and to expand their territory.

Homeowners may not see the carpenter ants, or the nest where the ants reside, but they may notice other signs that point to an infestation. Carpenter ants may crawl in the walls of your home and make a rustling or crinkling noise. They enter through holes in your home’s structure and create piles of what looks like sawdust in areas they have infested as they make their way through the wood. If you notice these signs in your home, call for an inspection as soon as possible.

If you see a carpenter ant walking around outside, there’s no reason to worry. These ants aren’t known for spreading diseases to humans or pets, and they probably won’t bite you unless it’s in self-defence. However, if you see a trail of carpenter ants walking in a single-file line to a potential food source inside your home, your house may have an issue.

If you’ve already got an ant problem, you’ll often notice several ants in various areas around your home, observe piles of sawdust-like wood shavings in odd places or even hear the ants crawling through the inside of your walls. Though the damage to your wood may not happen overnight, it can be extensive and irreversible.

Get In Touch for Waterloo Carpenter Ant Control Services

At Truly Nolen, we believe that homes should be safe, pest-free spaces that you and your family can enjoy without the worry of animal or insect-borne disease or infestation. If you suspect that your home has an ant problem, it’s time to call for an inspection. Get in touch with us today to resolve your ant problem as soon as possible.