MN Exterminator | Ants Control MN
Ants are truly one of the wonders of the world and they have many key roles in the environment. Ants help keep the insect population down, they work as a natural composter by breaking up organic materials, and they even do a very nice job aerating the soil. That said, having ants in your home or even excessive ants around your yard can cause problems for any homeowner. If a property has too many ants they can literally destroy gardens, create a mine field out of your yard, and some varieties of ants have a very painful bite. If you discover that you have carpenter ants you should contact a professional as they can do a great deal of structural damage to a home in short order.
Help! Ants Out Of Control!
Ants build colonies and rely on their scouts to ensure the survival of the colony by finding a constant source of food and water. When the scouts find food they leave a scent trail that the colony can follow to retrieve the resources.
I couldn’t write about ant foraging without mentioning this clever little trick. If you’ve ever observed ant trails you might have wondered how they know which direction to go. Ants leave trails of scents called pheromones in order to guide nest mates in a certain direction. These trails have allowed ants to become experts at gathering food. A scout ant is sent out first and given the difficult task of finding food to begin with – tricky when your searching an area of land of limitless size! This scout ant can search randomly for quite some time but, still, when it finds food it knows exactly the route to take to get straight back to the colony! On its return journey, the scout ant lays a trail of pheromones, almost like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumbs through the woods. The rest of the ant-hunting party can now follow the signposts of smells straight to the food, each one adding more scent to the trail to reinforce it for others. The workers will continue walking back and forth along the line until the food source is depleted.
For a home owner to ensure that ants will no longer bother them they need to follow three steps: Removing the scent trail, prevent them access to your home, and destroy nearby colonies if needed.
Carpenter Ants or Termites?
Compare Ant vs Termite
Colonies of ants and termites both produce winged reproductives that fly out to start new colonies. Carpenter ant swarmers are quite large – about 3/4-inch in length. Termites and other ant species are usually 1/2-inch in length or larger. The key way to distinguish winged ants and winged termites is by examining the wings. Termite swarmers have wings that are all the same size. If the hind wings are much smaller than the front wings, you have ants. Collect a few and have them identified by a professional if you want to be sure.
How Do I Get Rid of Carpenter Ants?
Carpenter ants hollow out sections of wood in which they are nesting – Wood that is damaged by carpenter ants
Although carpenter ants are capable of causing significant damage to structures, it is usually the result of long-term infestations. Most homeowners take steps to control carpenter ants soon after ants are noticed inside so little damage has usually occurred. Also, carpenter ant main (parent) colonies require a constant moisture source (like a leak that results in wet wood) to live indoors. Most parent colonies live outdoors in trees and landscape timbers, and they often set up satellite colonies indoors.
An experienced professional takes time to identify as many nest locations as possible and then treats those directly. Extermination is achieved by finding as many colonies as possible and treating each directly. Treating the parent colony is required to prevent new invasions of satellite colonies. Carpenter ant infestations can be difficult and often costly to exterminate or control due to the number of satellite colonies they may establish.
Stopping Ants From Entering Your Minnesota Home
Homeowners in Minnesota have more than enough to worry about; the last thing you want to have on your mind is pesky ants wandering through your house, invading your home and your life.
The best method to exterminate carpenter ants is to locate and destroy the nest, replace damaged or decayed wood, and, if they exist, eliminate moisture problems. Eliminating a carpenter ant nest is a difficult and challenging task. It is possible for a home owner to control carpenter ants on their own. However, in most cases, it is best to contact a Minnesota pest control exterminator to assist you in getting rid of them permanently. They have the experience and a wider array of products to more effectively control a carpenter ant problem. They can also repair any damages they may have caused in a way that the pests will not be able to enter again.
