Pests We Treat - Carpenter Ants Removed in Millstone Township, NJ

I was sent by Cowleys to handle an ant infestation for a homeowners in one of the residential communities in Millstone Township, NJ that we service. We provide routine inspections and preventative treatments to this community, and whenever a pest control issue pops up in the interim, we take care of it immediately. 

The homeowners reported  seeing numerous large, black ants on their front door steps. Upon arrival, I immediately identified these ants as carpenter ants. Unlike termites, these ants do not actually eat wood and they do not cause the level of damage of termites. Nevertheless, they are a serious infestation. They are still wood-destroying insects because they excavate galleries or tunnels in wood. They are called carpenter ants because of their wood-boring behavior. The holes they create allow water to infiltrate the wood leading to wood rot, so it is important to handle a carpenter ant infestation in its early stages. 

Carpenter ants are among the largest ants found within the United States. The workers vary in size, ranging from one-eighth to up to a half-inch long. The queens are slightly larger. If you see large (usually black) ants with a smooth curved body roaming about, there’s a good chance that they’re carpenter ants. They do not sting, but they do bite.

Carpenter ants are social insects (have a nest-worker structure) that usually nest in wood. Outdoors, they excavate galleries or tunnels, often in hollow trucks and rotting and trees. In homes and other structures, they will infest wood, foam insulation, and cavities. They prefer soft wood that is already damaged by fungi and moisture problems. Carpenter ants will enter structures through small gaps and cracks while foraging for food. 

Upon arrival, I inspected the home’s exterior and immediately found numerous foraging ants on the homeowner’s landing. Locating and eliminating the colony is key to carpenter ant control. Sometimes, doing some detective work and following foraging ants will lead you to the nest. Other times, you need to do some some probing of likely harborage areas with a pyrethroid aerosol may be necessary. Common ant harborage areas include gutters, roof lines, soffits, and areas around siding. 

To eliminate this carpenter ant infestation, I applied a residual barrier treatment to the exterior perimeter and a residual dust up into the siding. Also, a granular bait specifically made for carpenter ants can aid in colony elimination. These effective treatments work quickly to kill the colony and eliminate the infestation

The homeowners were quite pleased that they would not be seeing any more foraging ants outside their front doorsteps. They did the right thing by seeking pest control intervention at the first sign of trouble. If this infestation had continued, the ant population would have continued to increase, and these foraging ants would have made their way inside the home looking for food and water.