Discovering your home has a carpenter ant infestation can be upsetting, especially if your property has multiple wood structures inside and out. Truly Nolen provides carpenter ant pest control in Waterloo to help prevent costly damage to your space. A key component of our success with carpenter ants is to understand the life cycle, habitat and diet of these insects. Find out what a carpenter ant’s diet looks like and learn some ways to keep these creatures away.

Things To Know About Carpenter Ants

There are many different species of ants that may be in and around your business or residential property. Carpenter ants have a more distinctive look, with larger bodies and a dark, black colour. They are also more destructive to homes than other smaller ant species.

The first and most crucial step of an ant infestation solution is to identify the species. Truly Nolen can immediately determine if your ant problem is due to carpenter ants. Besides spotting individual carpenter ants in the area, there may also be signs of an infestation, such as shed wings, small piles of sawdust and rustling noises near windows, doors or in walls.

Do They Eat Wood?

One of the most common misconceptions about carpenter ants is that they eat wood. What carpenter ants actually do is chew through wood and excavate it to make tunnels and nests.

Wood shavings, piles of sawdust and fractures in the wood all make it seem like carpenter ant colonies are literally eating away at a home’s wood structures. Carpenter ants simply have powerful, hard-working jaws that work through different wood structures like a machine. So even though they aren’t technically eating and ingesting the wood pulp, they can still cause expensive damage to homes.

Sugary Food Sources 

Carpenter ants have eating habits that are similar to other insects. A preferred food source for carpenter ants is something sweet. Sugary food sources, such as nectar from plants, fruit, syrup, honey, jelly and honeydew are some of the common items a carpenter ant may eat.

If you have carpenter ant colonies in your home, you won’t see hundreds or thousands of ants vying for sugary food sources in your home. You may only see a handful of scout insects searching for food in your kitchen, garage, basement or attic.

Protein Food Sources

The other essential component of a carpenter ant’s diet is protein. In the wild, carpenter ants will eat other insects to get enough protein fuel. They can eat dead or living bugs. They enjoy eating termites and sometimes encounter them in wooden structures and trees.

In homes, carpenter ants may find protein in dog or cat food. They may also eat protein crumbs from meats and other foods in the pantry.

Prevention Tips

Home and business owners must be diligent to prevent a possible carpenter ant problem. Carpenter ants are most often attracted to rotting or dead wooden structures, including trees. If you have a lot of brush or foliage on your property, hire a pro to trim or clear dead branches and wood. Replace rotted or broken wooden components in your home or business.

Effective Carpenter Ant Pest Control in Waterloo

When you realize you have a problem with carpenter ants, it may already be significant. The best way to remove carpenter ants and prevent further damage to your property is to partner with the knowledgeable professional team at Truly Nolen. We can locate the colony and determine the best course of action to remove the ants and prevent them from returning.

Understanding how carpenter ants live and eat helps the crew at Truly Nolen develop effective ant pest control solutions. Contact our pros today to get help with a carpenter ant infestation.