It is easy to encounter rats inside your Anaheim property at any given time. Although ants are unwelcome guests, some species are more harmful than others. One of the most destructive ant species is the carpenter ant. Apart from contaminating food, carpenter ants in your house can tunnel through wood and find spots for building nests and galleries. If a carpenter ant infestation occurs, you may incur thousands of dollars in furniture repairs. So, if you spot these ants in your ants, contact specialists in pest control in Anaheim from A-1 Bonded Termite. Today, we will discuss the life cycle of carpenter ants in Anaheim, how they differ from other ants, preventative measures, and the best ways to deal with black carpenter ants in your home.
The Life Cycle Of Carpenter Ants
Below are key steps in the life cycle of a carpenter ant.
- Mating: During the mating season, male carpenter ants with wings, often known as swarmers, mate with the females with wings. Once mating is complete, the males die, and the females shed their wings.
- Colony building: The female then looks for a site for colony building, which can be small cracks in the wood. Then she locks herself inside and lays eggs. She stays inside until the eggs hatch to become adult workers.
- Feeding: The young receive food from their queen through her salivary glands until they can forage for food. Then once grown, the first brood takes care of the subsequent adult workers.
- Foraging: The work of the queen carpenter ant is to lay eggs. On the other hand, the adult workers forage for food, look after the eggs, larvae, and pupae, and do everything needed to broaden and expand the nest. Division of labor is slit into two: major workers guard the nest, and minor workers search for food and take care of the small ones.
- Male production: After two years or more, the queen produces males with wings who will go away to start new carpenter ant colonies.
It takes about six years for carpenter ants to establish a colony. It also takes 6-12 weeks for a complete life cycle to lapse from egg to adult. And during the cold weather, the cycle can stretch to 10 months.
Why Carpenter Ants Are Worse Than Other Ants
Carpenter ants in Anaheim have sharp, big mandibles that can easily tear through your skin. In addition, they secrete formic acid that delivers a burning sensation when they bite. Now, carpenter ants are not only more dangerous than other ants, but they also cause more damage than termites. While termites consume wood, carpenter ants do more; they burrow in the wood, remove the dust, and make extensive tunnels. In addition, carpenter ants like to live in large and secure colonies. And for these reasons, they like digging deep into the wood, where they cause structural damage to a property that would compromise your entire structure.
How To Prevent Carpenter Ant Reinfestation
Below is a list of 9 things you can do to prevent your home from carpenter ant infestations:
- Replace damp wood and repair wood with cracks anywhere around your house structure.
- Seal all kinds of crevices and cracks.
- Install quality weatherstripping on windows and doors.
- Repair or replace leaking faucets.
- Trim tree branches that extend towards your cottage or home to avoid having carpenter ants in trees in the yard moving to your attic.
- Clear litter in your compound and store firewood in a safe and secure area.
- Keep your floors clean and remove food crumbs that attract ants.
- Always cover food.
- Store dry goods as well as pet food in airtight containers.
Prevention comes in handy in keeping carpenter ants away, but when you see signs of carpenter ants in your house, contact experts to get rid of them before they cause a menace.
Contact The Professionals For Total Carpenter Ant Elimination
Since carpenter ants can nest deep inside the structure of your house, they can be challenging to remove on your own. So, although you may seek D.I.Y. treatment methods like carpenter ant spray, they cannot deal with the root of the issue, and that's why you need to contact the professionals at A-1 Bonded Termite. In addition, our company has access to the latest pest control equipment and products that are not easy to find for most homeowners.
Carpenter ants are pests that can cause extensive and expensive damage to your property. Apart from applying preventative measures like cleaning after meals and storing food in airtight containers, you need a home pest control expert to remove an ant infestation from your Anaheim home effectively. At A-1 Bonded Termite, we are ready to inspect your home and provide a custom solution to your infestation problem. Contact our office today for more details.