Summer pest control in New Haven often leaves homeowners preparing to fortify their homes against animals like skunks and creepy crawlies. However, ant control in New Haven is frequently overlooked, but just as important. With a bit of knowledge, a few tips and tricks, and a helping hand you can ensure that your New Haven property is ant free this summer.
Habits And Behaviors Of Common House Ants
One of the most common house ants to plague the New Haven area is the carpenter ant. Carpenter ants are large, typically black, ants that live in forested areas. They build nests, which look like burrows or galleries, within wood. Carpenter ants typically forage for food during the night time; they eat insects and sweet liquids, such a honeydew and nectar. They are very social creatures with a rigid social hierarchy, dominated by a queen. During the summer, sexually mature, winged carpenters ants take flight in order to mate and create new nests. Carpenter ants are armed with strong mandibles, that are capable of inflicting painful bites. They are not particularly aggressive, however if they feel threatened or startled they will bite. They sometimes release formic acid into the bite wounds of their victims, which does create a burning sensation.
The Problems Ants In Your Home Can Create
Carpenter ants in your house can cause a lot of issues. Other than being a nuisance and overwhelming presence in your New Haven home, carpenter ants can cause structural damage. They chew through wood in your yard and the wood that makes up the inner workings of your home. They burrow into the wood, thus weakening it from the inside out. This can add up to thousands of dollars in property damage. Furthermore, the type of damage that carpenter ant inflict on a home can lead to unsafe living conditions for you and your loved ones.
Signs of a carpenter ant infestation can be hard to spot if you’re not actively looking for them. Carpenter ants do not eat the wood that they chew. Instead, they push it out of their nests. This is called frass. Carpenter ant frass in your home is a major sign of infestation. Flying carpenter ants around the property, which happens during their mating flight, is another telltale sign of a carpenter ant problem in your home. Finally, carpenter ants in the trees in the your yard is another clue that there may be an infestation occurring.
Five Practical Prevention Tips To Keep Ants From Coming Back
There are some things that New Haven homeowners can do to prevent ants, like carpenter ants, from invading your property, such as:
- Eliminate sources of excess moisture or standing water in or around your New Haven home.
- Keep tree branches and bushes trimmed back away from your home.
- Ensure that doors and windows are in working order and shut completely.
- Maintain the screens in your windows and doors.
- Keep stacks of lumber and firewood away from the house and inspect wood before bringing it inside.
In the end, as you implement preventative measures, there is still the chance that ants will come back. That's where professional pest control can make the difference.
The Best Way To Completely Get Rid Of Ants In Your House
The best way to completely get rid of ants in your in home is to partner with a professional. For ant pest control near you, an expert pest control team like Rescue 1 Pest & Termite Control can help you regain control of your home and peace of mind. We offer personalized home pest control services to suit every house’s needs and provide 24/7 emergency services so you’re never alone in a fight against a pest. Give Rescue 1 Pest & Termite Control a call today!