SPRING IS NEAR!

Spring is just around the corner and the higher temperatures will mean the emergence of insects that have been dormant over the last few months.

One of these insects is the carpenter ant, a wood-destroying insect!

When the outside temps start to climb consistently above 50 degrees, ants will come out of a deep sleep and start to look for water and old trails that lead them around your home or business. This time of year, if you see larger black ants – or in some cases brown – in your structure, especially around the sink areas, it is an indicator that you have carpenter ants nesting in the walls, subfloors, or anywhere in your structure that is warm, dry, and wood is available. Carpenter ants don’t damage wood by eating it. They do their damage by mining out tunnels inside the wood to use as a nesting site. Keep in mind, that the outside temperature has not yet been warm enough to allow them to forage outside. This time of year, we tend to see carpenter ants inside structures but not on the exterior of buildings. For this reason, we know that they have been in your home or business for some time and you just had no idea.

The carpenter ant is the number one wood-destroying insect in the Pacific Northwest, and even if you only see one or two this time of year, you should be concerned. If you find ants inside your structure this time of year, call a professional pest control company to come out and perform an inspection to determine if you have a problem.