How To Get Rid Of Carpenter Ants?

Damage Made By Carpenter Ants

Do you have a beautiful house, fully decorated with wooden furniture? If yes, then you need to be aware of carpenter ants.  Because carpenter ant is one of the most dangerous insect who destroy wood. They are destructive like termite. They destroy wood not for eating, only for making nest. They create tunnels inside woods for making nest.

Getting rid of carpenter ant is very difficult, but not impossible. If the hive is large in size, then it will be very difficult to completely get rid of them. Today, I gonna describe the technique of getting rid of carpenter ants.

Physical Description and Nature of Carpenter Ants

For complete extermination, you have to have knowledge about the life style and physical characteristic of carpenter ants.

Carpenter ant is quite large in size (length between 3/4” to 1/2”). Their head is reddish-brown with black eye. Their abdomen and thorax are black.  They have even round thorax and only one node in the back. They have unequal wings pairs. 

Their main food is sweet and protein. They love to take sweet, like sugar, fruit juice and anything contain sugar. Protein is also their favorite food. They do not eat wood like termites. They create nest by digging tunnels inside wood. They love to create nest inside rotten and/or moist woods. 

Carpenter ant

Getting rid of carpenter ants

Getting rid of carpenter ant is very difficult. For getting rid of carpenter ant, you will have to identify their nest first. They remain more active during evening to the midnight. You have to follow them in this time. They do not see yellow color, so you should cover your flash light with yellow paper. Sometimes they make nest outside the house. Outdoor nests are quite easier to destroy. 

You can categorize all the exterminations technique into major two groups. You may choose any of those methods, depending upon the severity of the infestation.

First Category is "Natural Technique"

For using natural techniques, you have to identify the size of the hive first. Try to find out the nest first. Then try to count the number of flying carpenter ants. If the number is lower than twenty then you can use natural techniques.

At such a situation you will have to simply destroy the hive manually. You can pour boiled water into the nest. Make the opening of the nest quite larger and pour hot water into it. Make sure the nest be over flowed.

You may also use corn product for killing carpenter ant. They cannot digest corn products. If they eat corn product they will die. Spread corn food mixing with sweet around the nest.

You may also use the mixture of Boric Acid and sugar. Carpenter ant love to eat sugar, and die by eating Boric Acid. But be careful about the blending ration of the mixture. You will have to maintain the ratio 1:10. If you use more boric acid, then the worker ant will die immediately after touching it. It will reduce the effectiveness of the mixture. Otherwise the worker ant will be able to carry the mixture to the nest and eat altogether. This will ensure the ruin of entire hive.

You may also spray insect killer. But, it may create the problem more dangerous. Because, if the queen remain alive, then the queen will boost the rate of breeding for minimizing the loss. So, always be careful about the queen.

Second Category is "Chemical Technique"

If the flying number of carpenter ant is more than 20, then you should not take the problem lightly. More than twenty flying carpenter ant is a strong sign of a large colony.

In such a situation you will have to call someone who is highly skilled and professional in pest controlling. Because, professional people have good collection of pesticides. They also know the proper technique of using them. If you want to handle the situation by yourself, then you will have to have sufficient knowledge.