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Archive for the ‘Ants’ Category

Long Term Protective Measures Against Carpenter Ants

Implementing long term protective measures against a variety of pests can save you a lot of headache and a lot of money. In this article, we’re going to go over these measures and how they can be used against carpenter ants.

Why carpenter ant infestations are hard to prevent

Carpenter ants will build their colonies inside wood exclusively, and the colonies are started by swarmers. Swarmers are winged ants that can fly and land anywhere, so it’s hard to implement exclusionary methods that are effective 100%.

Carpenter ant prevention methods of a chemical nature

With that being said, there are some chemical prevention methods that can either prevent a colony from being started, or prevent the workers from reaching food. In the first category, you have wood treatments that can be applied to any wooden surface in order to protect it from pests. These treatments can get expensive when applied to the entire home, and they will lose effectiveness fairly quickly.

In the second category of prevention methods, you have options that are longer lasting, options such as residual insecticides, baits and broadcast treatment insecticides. Residual and broadcast treatment insecticides are used to create no-go zones that will instantly kill any ant that comes into contact with them, with the former being used to protect areas indoors and the latter being used outdoors. Baits can be used for both prevention and control. They are great for stopping carpenter ant colonies when they are young. Basically, workers will come across the bait, which is a piece of food laced with insecticide, and they will bring it back to the colony and share it around. Eventually, the poisoned bait reaches the queen and it kills it.

Getting rid of carpenter ant infestations

Even with the best prevention methods, there’s still a small chance that a carpenter infestation can pop up. As such, it’s  best to know what you need to do in such a situation. For the most part, the best option is to call over a pro to help remove the infestation. Pros will be able to ensure that an infestation is removed fully and as quickly as possible. This will greatly lower the odds of reinfestation.

If you have any questions about the control and prevention measures that can be used against carpenter ants, or if you are currently dealing with a carpenter ant infestation, contact us today.

How Long Is the Life of an Ant Colony?

Colonies can house tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of ants. However, they all have humble beginnings and most are inextricably tied to the life of the queen. Let’s take a look at how ant colonies start and how long they can last.

How an ant colony starts

Every ant colony starts with a swarmer – a winged ant. These swarmers are spawned in mature ant colonies, and they fly out in the hundreds or thousands looking for a new nesting location. Most of them will die trying to fulfill this mission, but one or two might be successful enough to mate, dig out an initial nest, lay some eggs, and nurture the first brood to maturity. Once these difficult first steps are fulfilled, the colony is well on its way to being successful, and the odds of it failing go down significantly. There are also species that can start their colonies by transferring already mature queens from their original colony, but this option is limited to only a handful of specific ant species.

How long does an ant infestation last?

An ant infestation will usually last as long as the queen is alive. The queen is the sole producer of new workers, and it can live for up to a few decades, while the average worker only has a few months to live. If the queen is killed, the rest of the colony follows shortly after. However, there are ant colonies that have multiple queens, and all the queens will have to be killed in order for the infestation to stop.

How are ant infestations removed?

Ant infestations are removed in one of two ways – direct application insecticides and baits. Direct application insecticides are very fast and they are used when an ant colony is out in the open. For when the colonies are hidden, or have multiple satellites, baits will have to be used. Baits consist of a piece of food that is laced with insecticide. The ants will come out of the colony to forage, find the bait, and then take it back to the colony and share it with other members. Eventually, the bait reaches the queen, who will get poisoned, die, and take the rest of the colony down with it. For more information about ant infestations, or if you have an infestation that has to be controlled, contact us today.

Carpenter Ant 411

Of all the ant species that you could have in your home, carpenter ants are probably the worst. While most ant species will simply scurry around looking for food, carpenter ants will actually destroy your home. Similarly to termites, carpenter ants destroy wood, using it as a medium in which they can build their colonies. As such, it’s important to prevent carpenter infestations from occurring. Here’s how you can do just that.

Carpenter ant misconceptions

Some homeowners will see a carpenter ant or two in the home and not think much of it. After all, if there’s only one here and there, then you don’t really have much of an infestation, right? Unfortunately, this is not true. Carpenter ants do not need to necessarily find food sources in the home that they infest. They can simply go outside and find food there. So, make sure that you keep an eye out for black ants that are larger than usual, and if you see them either outdoors or indoors, you call over a pest control specialist to perform an inspection.

Prevention tips

Ideally, you want to deal with carpenter ants by preventing them from setting up in the first place. In order to do this, you will need to follow a few guidelines:

  • Make sure that you keep firewood and any other type of wooden products at least 20 feet away from the home, and elevated off the ground. This will not only protect you from carpenter ants, but from termites as well.
  • You also want to trim branches and bushes near the home. This will prevent any dead wood from staying in contact with the home, and it will also allow the sun to pass through and remove any moisture that may be near the wood in the foundation.
  • Obstructured gutters are another big source for moisture that leads to termite and carpenter ant infestations. Obstructed gutters will force water to run down the side of the home and puddle near the foundation wall. This will obviously lead to rotten wood.

Preventing a carpenter ant infestation is mainly about preventing them from having access to degraded or rotting wood. Once they are in the home however, they need to be removed immediately. Contact us today if you have a carpenter ant infestation and you need professional help in order to remove it from your home.

Common Pests to see after a Thunderstorm

The popular song reads, “The calm after the storm” but, unfortunately, this does not apply to pests. Thunderstorms bring out a lot of unwanted creatures that can invade your home and this can sometimes even lead to structural damage. Some pests that you need to look out for after a thunderstorm are mosquitoes, cockroaches, termites, ants and yellow jackets.

Mosquitoes are never fun. These insects have been around for at least 46 million years and love to bite and be a nuisance. Along with this, mosquitoes can spread disease and leave pretty nasty bites on your skin. With over 3,000 species of mosquitoes, you want to make sure that these bugs stay out of your homes. Mosquitoes love a moist climate, which is why more seem to come out after rainfall.

Cockroaches are terrible to run into whether it be before, during or after rain. These pests can be difficult to control because they reproduce at a rapid pace and lay many eggs at once. This is why is it so important to be proactive when you have a roach problem in your home. The rain boosts cockroach activity because they prefer damp climates.

Termites are harmless to humans but detrimental to your home. Subterranean termites live underground and when there is rainfall, they sometimes need to find shelter because the washed-up dirt has taken their home away. What better place for a termite to stay than your home with lots of wood for it to feed on? Termites multiply fast and can cost up to thousands of dollars if not handled properly. Because of this, it is important to call pest control fast and stop termites at their source.

Ants also reside underground so, when flood conditions wash up their nest, they also find shelter in residential homes. Ants move together in colonies so if you see one, you more than likely have a lot more than just that. Yellowjackets are similar to ants because they also nest in the ground. Both creatures invade homes after thunderstorms in an attempt to find “food and dry ground.”

If you run into any of these pests after a storm, give us a call at J&J Exterminating Co. We are here to help with all of your pest-related needs and want to make sure that your home is safe and comfortable, especially after a storm.

Have you seen any of these pests after a thunderstorm?

Carpenter Ant Infestations In The Backyard

Carpenter ants can cause ravages in the home, but they are also a significant threat to your backyard. From trees to firewood, nothing wooden is safe, so it’s important to know how to detect an infestation early on and then remove it.

What attracts carpenter ants

Carpenter ants are mainly drawn to dead wood that is high in moisture content. This means that they may be drawn to a pile of firewood, or a tree stump that’s out in the backyard. They will also target the parts of trees that have dead wood in them, and then they can spread to the healthy parts of the tree. Carpenter ants are known to set up satellite colonies, so if the infested piece of wood is near the home, the infestation could spread to the building as well.

Signs that there is an infestation

Depending on where the infestation is located, you will start to notice several signs during a carpenter ant infestation. To start, you will always know that you have an infestation when you notice large black ants crawling around your property. Whether these half an inch long ants are indoors or outdoors, it should be a cause for concern.

You then may start to notice small piles of sawdust near the infested wood. This sawdust is known as frass and it is the waste generated as the ants tunnel through wood. Since they can’t just keep this waste inside the colony, they will push it outside the colony.

Finally, the wood itself may start to show signs of damage. When the infestation is widespread enough, the galeries will start to become noticeable on the exterior of the wood.

Preventing and controlling carpenter ant infestations in the backyard

To prevent carpenter ant infestations from happening in your backyard, you have to make sure that any dead wood that’s out there is not exposed to the elements, or getting too high in moisture. If an infestation is already started, then you will likely need to hire a pro to get it under control quickly. A pest control professional will use a variety of insecticidal products to destroy the colony, depending on the colony’s size and location. These products can include baits, dusts and foams.

For more information on how carpenter ant infestations are controlled once they pop up in the backyard, or if you currently have an infestation, contact us today.

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J & J Exterminating, Inc.

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J&J Exterminating, Inc.