Carpenter ants can hide quite literally anywhere. They can hide behind walls and make nests in the wood studs and insulation. They can even live in drywall. They can hide inside furniture and in the wood and insulation in your attic so essentially there is no way to physically find them. They are master spys and they are amazing at their job. But they are not untraceable. There are signs, leftovers, detritus that can help you understand that you have an infestation on your hands. It is best to contact professional carpenter ant exterminator Guelph in the Greater Toronto Area to declare your home ant-free as soon as possible!
So how does a home gets infested with ants? Carpenter ants especially. Do they just make a caravan and barrel in like a carnival? Or are there steps to an infestation. Where do the ants start their journey, where are they going? And how far are they willing to go to make your home theirs. That is what we are about to find out, so strap in and keep your arms inside the ride because here we go!
Carpenter ants start their life outside. This is the most common place for them to start a colony. But being outside isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. There are predators like birds and rodents and squirrels, there are vast temperature changes in the weather that can force them to stop work for entire winters. And there isn’t that much food outside. Now human homes and properties, that’s some good living. Food all over the place dropped by children and pets. Sweet syrups dripping off every sticky surface. Bbq’s every weekend with leftovers left outside all night. Its the damn Hilton. And these ants are well aware of that fact.
They build their outer colony and bide their time. Watching and listening like some distant masters, waiting for the time to strike. Then, when the colony reaches maturity the colony makes its move. They produce an air born squadron of winged ants that will penetrate the perimeter of your home and mate in your living room (in front of your kids! Gross!). Once the mating is finished the male ants die (womp womp) and the female ants chew off their wings and eat the muscle fibre to fill them while they find a crack to lay their eggs in. They seal themselves and when the eggs hatch she begins building her new colony. This can happen in your home, a sporadic and sudden burst of ants in your home that seem to be coming from nowhere. What is there to do?
Who you gonna call? Ant Control!
