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Carpenter ant control in Seattle can be a difficult task. Since we have an abundance of wood in our state these ants can thrive. Carpenter ant workers can be recognized by their evenly convex thoracic profile. Color is variable, with black or red and black bi-colored species being most common. Polymorphic workers range in size from 6 to 13 mm, which distinguishes them as one of the largest ant species. Colonies are usually found in logs, trees, or other wooden structures. Workers forage for dead or live insects, honeydew, or common household foodstuffs. Reproductive ants are present in the colony during winter and swarm during the first warm days of spring (March–June, depending on locality). Several species occur throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Primary Concerns with Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are considered structural pests. While they will sometimes start their attack in wood at various stages of decay, they also attack sound wooden structures and can be extremely damaging. They do not eat wood, but instead clear areas inside the wood in which to raise their brood.
Carpenter Ant Information
Carpenter Ants Want to Pulverize Your Home. Nature created carpenter ants for a specific reason: to aid in the breakdown of decaying wood. In other words, to pulverized rotten trees and stumps into sawdust. In turn, they’re provided with a hollow, comfortable home. Because this mutual relationship is so crucial to the balance of nature, carpenter ants instinctively build multiple satellite colonies to ensure survival if others are destroyed. Often, at least one of the colonies will end up in your home.
Turn Right at the First Whiff. Being practically blind, a carpenter ant’s whole life depends on its sense of smell. Just like bees, queen ants lay eggs while their workers forage for food, water and prospective colony locations, as many as 300 feet away in all directions. Each foraging ant leaves behind an odor trail similar to perfume, called pheromone. It’s like a road map for the other ants in the colony to follow. More commonly known as an “ant trail,” a pheromone trail is tough enough to withstand the elements, including snow and rain.
Jaws… And You Thought the Movie Was Scary. Carpenter ants use their powerful jaws to bore smooth tunnels in wood where they lay their eggs. Wet wood, dry wood, old wood, new wood — it doesn’t matter to them. It’s not unusual to find carpenter ants setting up shop in a home before the real carpenters have finished the job.
Because carpenter ants are used to living in the cold dampness of a tree stump, nothing could look more luxurious than your warm home to them, a giant stump heated year round. They’ll take up residence in walls, floors, roofs, or any wood environment that looks cozy to them.
Sometimes the only evidence you’ll see is a single ant in your home or yard. But for every single any you see, a thousand more can be lurking behind the scenes, causing severe damage to the structure of your building. Unfortunately, the presence of carpenter ants is usually detected only after their colonies are well established.
The Redi Carpenter ant Solution
The only reliable solution to a carpenter ant problem is to launch an all-out attack. Your call to Redi National means you’ve brought in the best-trained, best-equipped pest elimination team.
Redi National believes that just eliminating the colony in your home is only half the job. Satellite colonies still exist, with pheromone trails leading right back into your house. Redi National programs are designed to prevent these re-infestations. Plus, we recommend any changes you can make to discourage the ants from coming back.
We’re ready to take on and eliminate your carpenter ant problem. To ensure your safety and guarantee protection, we use only EPA approved materials, which have an effective thirty-day life span.
Were Redi for the Long Haul. Since a carpenter ant’s pheromones can withstand severe weather and even treatment, our programs are designed to ensure against re-infestation. Our 100% pest-free guarantee means your problem is solved.