Carpenter Ants Are Drilling Holes In Your Charleston Homes

Good morning and welcome to the Advanced Termite and Pest Control podcast. This is key. Today we’re going to be talking about carpenter ants. Carpenter ants swarm in our area from May to about August. They’re one of the largest species of ants we have, typically black or a combination of red and black. And unlike typical household ants, they can do a great deal of damage. Named from their nest building habits, carpenter ants chew through pieces of wood to form tunnels inside of it. They do not eat the wood like a termite, but rather use the hollowed out sections to make nests and form colonies. One single colony can contain up to 20,000 worker ants. How do you know if you have an infestation? The only way to tell if you have an infestation outside of seeing them is the visible evidence of small holes or openings on the surface of the wood. You will see the debris from these holes near the area as well. An infestation is typically accompanied with moisture issues due to wood being soft or from damage or fungi. Apart from termites, carpenter ants can do the most damage to your home. So what can you do? Be mindful of rotting tree stumps and decaying wood around your property? Keep firewood away from your home and off the ground and eliminate as much direct wood to contact wood to ground contact as you can from around the home. Seal up any openings around the perimeter also as they do tend to crawl along shrubs overhead wires and tree limbs looking for a way in. If you suspect you have an infestation call a licensed pest control professional to put a plan of action together. Our technicians will do a free assessment to correctly identify and treat call 843-795-6767