Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants are at it again. Each year they become active in Spring and remain active until early Fall. It is in early Spring that mature carpenter ant colonies will release reproductive individuals into the world.

All reproductives have wings and are commonly refered to as “swarmers”. It is their purpose to mate, lay eggs in a new location and establish a new colony. During the winter months, outdoor colonies will become dormant however some indoor colonies can continue to show activity.

Carpenter ants are generally about .25 to 1 inch in size and are indigenous to many parts of the world. Like their size, they can cause large amounts of damage if not treated. There are a few ways to find out if you have carpenter ants, the first of course being seeing them. You may also see piles of a sawdust like material called frass. Carpenter ants don’t actually eat the wood but instead tunnel through it which causes the frass. You may also begin to see some damage if left untreated for a long period of time.

Some ways to reduce your chances of getting carpenter ants include maintaining dry conditions-they prefer moist wood to nest in-so if they can’t find it either in or around your home, they won’t stick around. And remember, any place that wood comes in contact with soil, it could potentially become infested with carpenter ants.

If, and when you do get a carpenter ant problem (or any other pest problem), give Cottage Country Pest Control a call at 705-534-7863 or email us. We are happy to answer any questions and book an appointment at your convenience.

Weekends

It’s a sunny Saturday morning and Ross just left to head up to a carpenter ant job in Honey Harbour…then he’ll come back through and head to the other side of our region, over to Tiny Township. And yes, it is a lovely sunny Saturday and we do have family coming for a visit and the boat is not yet in – that’s what happens when you offer pest control services in cottage country. You work weekends 🙂

And weekdays too, of course…. but the busy season is so short, you do what you have to do. Sure wish the bed bugs would wait until the spiders and carpenter ants and squirrels slow down again, but no such luck.

If you’ve discovered pest problems in your home or cottage, do give us a call at (705)534-7863 or email me at ccpestcontrol@gmail.com and Ross will be happy to stop by and solve them for you.

Weather permitting

*sigh*   Yet another full day on the calendar stymied by weather.

Yesterday was rain; today is even worse – lots of wind.

Although some will spray even so, Ross won’t. Not because he wouldn’t like to –  it’s frustrating to have so many people waiting for service and not be able to get to them.

But “environmentally responsible” is not just a phrase we throw around because it’s ‘in’ … it is something we actually happen to believe in.

If you can’t control where the spray winds up, you don’t spray.

Ah well… tomorrow’s another day 🙂

And in the meantime, there’s some carpenter ant work he can do. And errands to run.

Just so’s you know :)

Most days we are able to get back to our customers pretty quickly, whether you call or email us.

But I am teaching a few courses again this summer, so please do bear with us if you’re calling on a Thursday (all day) or Friday morning….   we will get back to you as soon as we can – but especially on Thursdays, that might take a bit of time. Best bet, actually, for a quicker response, is to email… that I can answer during breaks or between classes 🙂

But either way, rest assured that we will get back to you, and I will get Ross out to solve your pest problems as quickly as I can arrange it.

Lauralee