Wet Weather Spells Carpenter Ant Trouble for Northern New Jersey Homeowners
Carpenter ant populations are exploding in northern New Jersey. These wood-destroying ants thrive in moist wood, making our wet New Jersey spring perfect breeding grounds for this destructive pest. Carpenter ants are big, black ants as large as 1/2 inch long that nest in damp, rotting wood. These ants chew deep galleries into damaged wood to house their colonies and will move into undamaged wood as colonies expand. Carpenter ant colonies number in the tens of thousands. Their tunneling can create significant damage to landscape trees and northern New Jersey homes in Bergen, Passaic, West Essex and Morris counties.
Because carpenter ants are nocturnal, New Jersey homeowners may not immediately realize they have a carpenter ant problem. As the colony grows, the size and number of these big, shiny, black ants makes them hard to miss. If you notice a big, black ant on your northern New Jersey property or in your home, start looking for these signs of carpenter ant activity:
- Large ants crawling up and down tree trucks can indicate that ants have infested the tree, gaining access to soft interior wood through a pruning scar or damaged area.
- Repeated discoveries of big, black ants crawling across your kitchen or bathroom floor, particularly on upper floors, is a sign of a nearby nest.
- Little piles of sawdust-like frass, the by-product of carpenter ant tunneling, indicate a colony site.
- Large ants disappearing under window sills or door frames indicate a possible nest within your walls.
Next time: How to get rid of carpenter ants