Have you noticed large ants flitting about your home through the air? If you didn’t know ants could fly, you may have been shocked. These are winged carpenter ants and they are more common than you think. Truly Nolen provides carpenter ant removal in Toronto to help you with this problem. Educate yourself on these ants to protect your home and your family.
Winged Carpenter Ant Basics
Both male and female ants from various species grow wings when they reach sexual maturity. They use their wings to look for a mate and a place to start their own colony. Ants at this stage in their life are also called alates. Carpenter ants are one of the largest species of ants in North America and reach up to half an inch on average. They are dark in colour but are not black. They love to eat other insects and anything sweet. Their large mandibles are capable of breaking the skin, so beware of their bite. Their mouths also produce formic acid which can agitate the area. When threatened, they can cause themselves to spontaneously explode. It is easy to confuse winged carpenter ants with winged termites, another pest that can be found in the home. To tell the difference take a close look at the wings, if you can. Ants have two sets of wings, one larger than the other and gray in colour. Their waists are long and segmented. Winged termites have one set of wings that are typically white.Why Are They in Your Home?
If you see winged carpenter ants in your home they are looking to start a colony. Carpenter ants form their colonies inside of wood, so houses provide a lot of good material for them. There also tends to be plenty of food. They carve out tubular pathways through the wood, so evidence of their presence is pretty distinct. One queen will find a location for her colony and attract a mating swarm to hatch her first brood. She will typically start with about 20 workers. As they establish themselves, the queen will hatch more eggs and the workers will tunnel out more wood. These ants can be very destructive to the structure of a house.What You Can Do About Them
To keep carpenter ants away from your home, put distance between the house and any other sources of wood. For example, you should not store firewood nearby. Mulch is also attractive, due to its moisture content. Prevent tree branches and woody shrubs from touching your house because they can create a direct path inside. You should also be careful with your food storage so as not to tempt the ants. If you’ve already noticed them inside, call pest control services. We know exactly how to find the colony and exterminate them at the source. One trusty method is to find worker ants foraging and follow them back to the base. Once located, the nest can be sprayed with dust insecticide. All compromised wood will need to be replaced.Hiring a Professional
To ensure that the entire colony is wiped out at once, look to experienced professionals. You don’t want to leave behind any ants to reinfest your home and continue eating away at the structure. A pest control service such as Truly Nolen will address multiple infestation and prevention issues at once. We can wipe out the nest, seal up cracks and identify potential problem areas. Pest control often requires specialized equipment and knowledge, especially to eradicate a swarming species like carpenter ants. Reach out to Truly Nolen Canada for comprehensive carpenter ant removal in Toronto. Don’t let these little guys eat your house out from under you.Related Posts
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