Come spring, you may notice a carpenter ant sneaking into your kitchen. This little vlimeuse acts as a scout. Don’t let them get too comfortable, because if you do, you may have to wait two years to get rid of the carpenter ant colony in your home. Follow our 6 practical tips to eliminate carpenter ants, also commonly known as wood-boring ants.
TIP 1: Start by starving them
Black, brown or red in color, carpenter ants build their nests in the heart of forest environments, near homes. Being able to reach up to 13 mm, they are social insects living in colony.
Omnivorous, they will eat a little of everything. It is therefore necessary to take care to cut off all sources of power to them. Don’t leave food scraps, crumbs and organic waste at their mercy.
TIP 2: Poison the Queen
If you succeed in killing the queen, the colony will also die. Use the soldier-characters as poison administrators. Mix one part borax (also called boric acid) with one part food and place it near the main nest.
The workers will take the poisoned food back to their queen, who will eventually die after several weeks. If the ants die before reaching the nest, we suggest you decrease the amount of borax. The workers must be able to get to the queen.
Avoid this type of treatment if your children and pets play near the nests.
TIP 3: Destroy their nests
A colony of carpenter ants always has a main nest and many secondary nests, called satellites. If you can locate them, you can destroy them by spraying them with soapy water.
This way, you will eventually drown the ants. Once sprayed, stir the soil. You will have to repeat the operation several times.
TIP 4: Get rid of rotten wood
As you can imagine, carpenter ants love… carpentry. They will attack wet or decaying wood. When they run out of space in their nest, they will even move inside your house to dig into the wood.
We advise you to raise your firewood pieces, so that they are not accessible.
TIP 5: Listen to your house, it talks to you
If your carpenter ant infestation is at an advanced stage, you may begin to hear some cracking sounds. Inspect your walls and ceilings and don’ t hesitate to call for our free evaluation by phone if you have any doubts about a possible carpenter ant infestation.
TIP 6: Let the experts do your dirty work for you
A problem with carpenter ants can quickly turn into a nightmare. Even if you follow all our tips, ants may reappear after a few weeks of inactivity.
If this is the case, it is probably the satellite nests of the colony that were not exterminated during your interventions. We can help you resolve the situation once and for all.