If you’re a Louisville homeowner, you’ve probably taken certain steps to protect your biggest investment. You prepare your home for each change of season, repair damage when it happens, keep up with outdoor maintenance, and have homeowners insurance for unexpected problems.
An additional way to protect your home is one you may not have considered. Carpenter ants cause terrible damage to homes all over the U.S. every year and, if left untreated, can cause structural damage to the point of making your home unlivable. Carpenter ants tunnel into wood in order to build nests. While the damage to your home may start with one small colony, it can quickly branch out to satellite colonies, turning a small problem into a big problem over time.
Unfortunately, by the time you realize you have a carpenter ant infestation, they have often caused a considerable amount of damage.
Your best line of defense against carpenter ants is prevention. The following suggestions will help you to protect your Louisville home from the threat of carpenter ants.
Carpenter Ant Prevention Tips
- While carpenter ants can survive in dry areas, they prefer humid or moist environments. Therefore if you have any water-damaged wood in or around your home, you are inviting carpenter ants to take up residence.
- Make sure that there is good drainage around your home. Repair water leaks and damage from those leaks immediately. Keep a careful eye on kitchen and bathroom cabinets located under sinks. (While they do like moisture, carpenter ants have also been found tunneling through solid, dry wood as well, so simply keeping moisture at bay may not be enough to do the trick.)
- Keep stacks of wood or brush piles a safe distance from your home. Regularly clean debris from around your home and especially your foundation. Limit your use of mulch or consider using stone instead. Keep vegetation, such as bushes and trees, trimmed and away from your home.
- Beyond outdoor vegetation, you should also consider the food sources you may be leaving around. Keep outdoor garbage cans tightly sealed and away from your home. Remove garbage from inside your house on a regular basis.
- Finally, look for and seal easy entry points for carpenter ants. These include cracks, holes, and crevices in walls, windows, doors, and your home’s foundation.
What To Do If You Already Have A Problem
If you’ve seen carpenter ants inside or just outside your home, if you’ve heard them in your walls, or if you’ve noticed small spots of sawdust-like material in your home, you may have a carpenter ant problem. If you suspect you already have a carpenter ant problem, it’s best to contact the experts immediately.
Carpenter ant eradication can be tricky, especially if multiple colonies have already formed. The ant control services offered by Action Pest Control to the Louisville area are effective at finding all carpenter ant nesting areas. Your trained Action Pest Control expert will formulate and implement a plan specific to your unique situation. Don’t put off protecting your biggest investment and the place you call home. Call us today.