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There are hundreds of ant species living in the U.S., but one of the largest and most easily identifiable is the Carpenter Ant.  These creatures can range between 3/8”-1/2” and are either red or black.  Carpenter ants are actually quite common and may be spotted indoors or out.  They seek out sugar and proteins in the form of other insects.  The do their foraging at night and can travel up to 100 yards from their nests to find food.

Despite their name, carpenter ants do not eat wood.  They do, however, tear wood away as they build their home and tunnels leading to and from it.  They are particularly fond of moist or rotting wood such as tree stumps, old boards or logs left outside in a pile, or within old walls or floorboards.   This means that if you hope to prevent a carpenter ant infestation, it is vital to make sure high-moisture areas are drained and wood that is not piled up and allowed to rot on your property.  If you keep firewood, be sure it is in a dry spot where air can circulate around to keep it from getting soggy.

When you walk around your property, look for piles of wood chips or sawdust, swarms of ants, or even individual ants carrying pieces of food.   All of these are an indication that a nest is on your property.  To ensure that the ants are destroyed and do not come back, you will need to destroy the colony.  In this case, you should definitely call a professional pest control service. 

Professional pest control companies like Accuracy Plus California have experience locating and removing all kinds of pests including carpenter ants.  Using the latest equipment and methods, we can effectively eliminate pests and help to ensure there is no re-infestation in the future.  For a free Los Angles pest control inspection, give us a call at 888-675-0258 or go to www.accuracypluscalifornia.com.

Tags: ants

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 at 2:08 am and is filed under ants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.