Prevent a Carpenter Ant Home Invasion
An infestation of carpenter ants in your home is certainly something that can be prevented. Carpenter ants extermination may become necessary after a heavy infestation; these pests enjoy harvesting water-damaged wood to make their nests. But unlike termites, these critters do not eat the wood they use. Instead, they easily bite into the wood to bring it back to their nest. In doing so, they create what is known as galleries with the wood. These galleries resemble passageways, and the ants will live inside of them, coming out only at night to hunt and gather food.
Interestingly, these ants are able to travel up to 200 feet away from the nest to search for their next meal. Their foraging varies according to season; during the spring, these ants enjoy the sweet things they come across, such as fruit, honey or jelly. In fall, the ants stock up on protein sources, such as those found in various meats. In nature, the ants will bring home living or possibly even deceased insects for the colony to eat. But if they are living near your home, they will find that foraging is much simpler.
Because they enjoy living in wooden houses, these ants can cause damage to the wooden structures in your home. They may not be able to sting you, but an angry carpenter ant will bite with its mandibles which were designed for gnawing on wood, and can do some serious damage. If you find these ants in your home, it is probably best not to pick them up.
A carpenter ant is one of the larger varieties of ants, and is generally about
