Carpenter Ants Signs Northern New Jersey Homeowners Should Watch For
If you’ve begun finding large black ants inside your home or scurrying across your patio, it could be a sign that carpenter ants have invaded your northern New Jersey home. The largest ant species in the U.S., carpenter ants are the Godzillas of the ant world, ranging in size from 1/4 to 1/2 inch long. Carpenter ants tunnel into wood to create large galleries where they live and house their larva. Time and numbers — carpenter ant colonies can number in the tens of thousands — can do considerable damage to structural timbers and wood structures.
Carpenter ants are attracted by soft damaged and water-weakened wood. Sweating pipes inside the walls of your home or a plumbing leak can create perfect conditions for wood destroying carpenter ants. As the ant colony grows, carpenter ants will begin tunneling into healthy, undamaged wood, creating a lattice work of hollow tunnels inside critical support beams, porch columns, roof supports, etc.
Northern New Jersey homeowners should watch for these carpenter ant signs:
- Tiny piles of sawdust like material created during tunneling.
- Large black ants crawling on walls or floors inside your home. Because carpenter ants do not eat wood, they must forage for food. Carpenter ants found inside the home, particularly on upper levels, are an indication of infestation.
- Large black ants trailing up and down trees indicate a nearby nest.
- Winged ants or a dusting of small grayish wings indicate a large colony that is spreading.
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