With the arrival of summer, you might see a lot of ants around your house or office. You are not the only one who is affected from the carpenter ants at the start of summer. Almost every house owner is facing this problem and they need to take precautionary measures against these destructive pests. Therefore, in this article, we will discuss how you could keep the carpenter ants out of your house.
The Life Cycle of Carpenter Ants:
At the end of spring season, you would see a lot of flying insects and mostly the life cycle of these ants starts at that time of the year. The male winged ants fly around at the start of summer to mate with the winged female ants. After that they have fulfilled their purpose of mating the males die and the females begin their journey to find a place for their new colony. It might be a surprise for you but the females are the ones that start a colony and unfortunately, they might begin their new colonies inside your household and business.
Prevention Against Ant Infestation:
Carpenter ants can form nest and colonies both inside and outside. Certain things are the main source of attraction for them. For example, these pests are attracted to moist wood therefore you need to keep your house structure in the most dried and perfect shape. Being a human being, we are very careless and these ants due to our carelessness could cause a lot of damage. They can make multiple nests inside your home and in that case, the only option you are left with is to call Ant Control Surrey experts to eradicate all the ant colonies. Where these pests seem very harmless, they could cause a lot of damage to you and your property. Therefore, by following the tips mentioned ahead you could minimize the risk of ants entering your household.
Trim Your Garden:
One of the favorite places for carpenter ants is the wood of the trees and bushes around your house surrounding. Therefore, it is very easy for them to enter your house from these places. Especially if the branches and bushes of the tree are in contact with your house roof or sidings, they would just slip right in without you noticing them. What you need to do is perform routine outdoor maintenance and remove all these branches that are in contact with your house structure. You might even have to remove a whole tree but make sure whatever you cut from the garden you remove it effectively. As the stumps of a tree and all the deadwood can act as a nest for carpenter ants.
Remove the Rotting Wood:
Most carpenter ants are attracted to the rotting wood for building their nests. Therefore, it is necessary for you to a thorough inspection of your house and looks for any sign of rotting wood to save yourself from future ant infestation problems. Our household is subjected to a lot of damage from the atmosphere. Plumbing problems and water leakage issues can lead to rotten wood floors and walls. Moreover, the weather can cause damage to your home and yard so do a thorough check and replace any decomposing wood you found near your house.
Storing Firewood:
By now you would have developed a firm understanding that wood and carpenter ants are the best friends. A common mistake done by many people is that they place the firewood on the ground or a place that is directly in contact with their house. You need to keep a distance between your house and the firewood during the months of summer and winter. Keeping the pile of the wood off the ground and away from home would reduce the risk of ant infestation and they would certainly not choose your house for building their nests.
Wood and Soil Contact:
Being a homeowner the worst thing you could do to promote ant infestation is to have a wood structure in direct contact with the soil. Mostly the porch, deck, and the doors of the house are in contact with the soil, and when these wood structures start rusting they become the household of carpenter ants. Therefore, you need to make sure that all the house structures are resting on a cement structure. Avoiding the wood contact with the solid would help prevent any easy access ants have with your house. Moreover, the solid concrete base would give firm support and prolong the life of the wood.
