Carpenter Ant Treatment

Hulett Environmental Services has been serving Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Vero Beach, and other South Florida communities for over 50 years. We are the leading service providers, and you can count on each of our trained and certified technicians. Each of our team members is trained by a Board Certified Entomologist at Bugs University to use Integrated Pest Management practices in your home and are further trained in the proper inspection and identification of pests to be absolutely certain that they are able to take a custom approach to your infestation issue.

Hulett is committed to using the most advanced products, and using a customized program, we will work to address your carpenter ant infestation promptly and comprehensively. Your satisfaction with our work is our top priority, and you can count on our money-back guarantee — if you are not satisfied for any reason, we will return to make it right or will refund your last service payment.

The following information will give you a better understanding of carpenter ants by discussing their appearance, behaviors, foraging habits, preferred habitats, and whether or not they pose any specific threats to your family or pets. Carpenter ants are typically harmless, but their large size can be a bit disconcerting, particularly if you find them in your home.

Behavior

Carpenter ants are active at night and are attracted to sweet foods. They will also feed on other insects. Carpenter ants will build their nests in damp or decaying wood. This is why carpenter ant problems are often first noticed in kitchens, bathrooms, and attics where there is moisture and wood. They seem to prefer voids for nesting which have these characteristics: close to moisture and food sources, safe from predators such as birds and lizards, safe from flooding, heat, and other environmental stresses, and easily accessible (for them). For this reason, pool boxes, meter boxes, utility boxes, and tree cavities are common nesting areas.

Foraging

Carpenter ants forage alone or along trails, traveling roughly 300 or less feet from the nest. They enter buildings around door and window frames, through eaves, along plumbing and utility lines, and over branches touching the building. Peak foraging occurs at night for the Florida and Tortugas Carpenter ants, while the Compact Carpenter ant can be seen in the daytime. Carpenter ants will feed on sweets or proteins, making them a pesky forager since they can use many things as a food source.

Habitat

Carpenter ants are found throughout the United States but are most common in the southeastern states. In Florida, carpenter ants are a year-round problem, and often require maintenance and preventative pest control programs.

Hazards

Carpenter ants do not carry or transmit disease, but they are known to excavate and nest in wood that has been damaged by water or termites to build their nests. Although not particularly aggressive, Carpenter ants can inflict a nasty bite when disturbed.

There are a few things you can do to prevent carpenter ants from invading your home:

• Keep your home clean and free of food sources that carpenter ants are attracted to.
• Repair any moisture problems, such as leaks, in your home.
• Trim trees and shrubs away from your home, as these ants and other pests will use those plants as bridges to access your house.
• Store lumber away from your home.

Following these steps are still no guarantee that your home will remain ant-free, so contact us as soon as possible for a free consultation about a custom pest control or pest prevention program.