An infestation of carpenter ants can cause huge problems as they excavate tunnels in the wood of your home to build nests. To avoid structural damage, you need to call for carpenter ant control in Niagara as soon as possible. One of the first places you may see signs of a carpenter ant infestation is in the bathroom.
Why Are Carpenter Ants Attracted to the Bathroom?
Most likely, the ants are attracted to the moisture in the bathroom. Carpenter ants prefer to build their nests in moist wood, probably because it is softer and easier for them to chew. Moisture often collects in areas of the bathroom in the form of condensation after a hot shower. You may also have water leaks under the sink or behind the toilet. You may not notice small leaks or condensation, but ants may actively seek them out and start building a nest where the wood has become soft due to exposure to moisture. Another reason why carpenter ants are attracted to the bathroom may be because of the toilet. If you have a condition called glycosuria, your urine contains a form of sugar called glucose. This is a symptom of an underlying medical condition, such as diabetes, because the urine contains no glucose under normal circumstances. It is rarer for ants to be attracted to your bathroom because of glycosuria than because of moisture.How Do the Ants Get Into the Bathroom?
Carpenter ants are among the largest ant species, but they are still relatively small. There are a lot of openings around your home where they might be able to get inside. They may be able to get directly into your bathroom through heating and cooling ducts, cracks in the foundation, or crevices around windows. They may also get into the house from a vent in the attic and make their way into the bathroom from there. Many bathrooms have exhaust fans connected to a vent in the attic to release the gases. Utility lines can provide a way for ants to enter your house, and so can branches of trees and shrubs that make contact with the home's exterior.How Can You Prevent Ants From Getting Into Your Bathroom?
The problem of keeping ants out of your home and away from your bathroom can be a tricky one because the conditions that attract them are difficult to control. You probably can't completely prevent moisture from collecting in your bathroom, but you can reduce it by running the exhaust fan during your showers. You should check thoroughly for water leaks around your plumbing fixtures and repair them if you find any. You should seal up cracks that you find around windows and trim branches so that they no longer come in contact with the house. If you do find wood that has been water damaged, you should replace it immediately. Ants foraging for food leave behind scent trails so they can retrace their steps and other ants can follow them. Cleaning the scent trails doesn't get rid of the ants that are already in your home, but it does make it more difficult for them to find food. If you have identified a path along which the ants seem to travel, you can use a solution of water and dishwashing liquid to clean the scent trail. It may require several applications. Some people use natural products, such as vinegar, essential oils, or castile soap, as pest deterrents against ants. These materials are nontoxic, so it certainly won't hurt anything to try them, but there is little scientific evidence attesting to their effectiveness.Call Truly Nolen for Carpenter Ant Control in Niagara
Carpenter ants often cause problems during the winter when many other pests are hibernating. Truly Nolen offers seasonal solutions for pest control, meaning that we can act to eliminate carpenter ants from your home whenever you become aware of a possible infestation. Contact us to learn more.Related Posts
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