The city of Anaheim is in Orange County; it is an urban hotspot. Still, when urban life gets overwhelming, it has beautiful mountain vistas, and a sparkling ocean nearby that can provide an escape from city life. Abundant forests and mountain vistas are a short drive from Anaheim, offering people the chance to enjoy a relaxing stroll or challenging hike. One local ant that thrives within the large forested areas around Anaheim is the carpenter ant. Without pest control in Anaheim, drilling carpenter ants that move their outdoor operations indoors may harm area homes.
Are All Winged Ants Carpenter Ants?
Out of the 700 varieties of nuisance ants roaming the United States, only a handful garner special attention because of the damage they inflict on homes; one such ant is the carpenter ant. Ants not only enter homes on tiny feet but can also fly. Contrary to popular belief, flying carpenter ants around your property are not the only ants with wings that can make a landing within Anaheim properties. Many different species of ants are capable of flying (swarming). Ant colonies work through a caste system that contains queens, workers, and males.
When colonies mature, winged females leave to mate with winged males (usually in bushes, shrubs, trees, or buildings). Once mating is complete, the female will lose (female carpenter ants chew them off) its wings and begin laying eggs to establish a new colony; unfortunately for the males, they typically die after mating. Finding discarded wings inside your home can be alarming. To identify which species of ant may have invaded your home, it is always wise to call in the professionals at A-1 Bonded Termite for identification and carpenter ant control control in Anaheim.
The Extent Of Damage Carpenter Ants Can Do To Your Home
Carpenter ants love the outdoors and typically establish parent and satellite colonies within dead logs or stumps near homes. Flying carpenter ants leaving a colony and workers ants roaming the ground for food often find their way into homes. If conditions inside a home are ripe to sustain a colony, carpenter ants will use a tunneling technique through wooden structures in your home to access voids for a nesting site. Carpenter ants usually target moist and rotting wood or areas already hollowed out by other pests. Tunneling damages any wood carpenter ants drill through, and if left untreated, it can eventually lead to multiple satellite nests getting constructed throughout homes.
Carpenter ants that have been working for an extended period within homes can weaken the structural support beams of a house, threatening their stability. They can also cause sagging/sloping floors. Drilling can also warp framing around doors and windows, causing them to stick. While damages don’t happen overnight, if left untreated multiple satellite nests can splinter off and spread to other areas of your home. Carpenter ants in Anaheim spell trouble for homeowners; even seeing one in your home should prompt homeowners to contact the pest professionals at A-1 Bonded Termite. The sooner homeowners get a jump on carpenter ant exclusion, the better.
What Is Attracting Carpenter Ants To My Property?
Carpenter ants must have water to survive and an adequate food supply. If they discover these life-sustaining items in your home, they will stay. Foraging worker ants typically set out at night, searching for food sources to sustain a colony. Foods are consumed by on-site workers and then transported back to the colony, where they feed the others.
Things that attract carpenter ants to properties and keep them there include:
- Any water leak that provides moisture
- Wet, decayed, or moldy wood
- Standing water (inside or out)
- Anything sweet (meats, eggs, cakes, fats, grease)
- Pet foods
- Fruit or plant juices
- Insects (dead or alive) and arthropods
- Insect honeydew
Carpenter ants have many ways to infiltrate Anaheim homes. They can use the smallest openings around windows, doors, siding, and foundations, walk across tree branches, and hitch rides on stacks of wood or building materials left outside to access homes. With pests that can infiltrate homes by air or land, it’s best to have a trusted pest expert like A-1 Bonded Termite in the Anaheim area to get rid of carpenter ants.
How Can I Get Rid Of Carpenter Ants Permanently?
Permanent and effective ant control solutions only happen when you use a trusted and experienced pest professional like A-1 Bonded Termite. Established in 1976, our third-generation family-owned and operated company has provided the Anaheim area with quality ant pest control services for over 40 years. With highly trained and licensed pest control experts on staff, homeowners can rest easy that their pest problems will be dealt with efficiently and expertly. We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on every job we perform, so don’t wait; contact A-1 Bonded Termite today for your free inspection and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Anaheim.