There are many species of carpenter ants, but the ones we are most plagued with have the amazingly creatively named Northern carpenter ants, and Black carpenter ants. These live in colonies which include a queen, sentries, nannies, caretakers, and foragers. Ant colonies are fascinating!
Typically, the ants that you see out and about are approximately 25% of the total population. Once the queen dies, the colony collapses, and the problem is solved!
Our goal is to solve your ant problem, safely and responsibly.
We do that through the use of bait. By providing individual ants with bait they like and watching, we learn where they’re coming and going from, and what cracks they’re exploiting. We can see where there are nests ( there are usually at least two) and make sure we’re getting to all. And we’ll ask you to pay attention to where they dispose of the bodies and frass (sawdust; although not always wood – they’ll nest in other materials, as well. They LOVE insulation foam).
Later, we’ll use that knowledge to protect all of those areas from re-infestation using diatomaceous earth.
SOLVING carpenter ant problems require the death of the queen – killing the foragers, which is what spray does – is counter-productive as it kills the means of getting to her!!
If you’ve been getting sprayed – for no matter how long – she’s still in there, rebuilding her society and expanding the damage they’re doing to your structure. That’s why they ‘always come back’ and you have to spray again.
Am I saying we never spray? Nope!! Occassionally we’ll have a incredibly resiliant queen that continues in spite of everything we do to take her out, and we have to do something else. Did you know queens can live more than twenty years?! It sucks that we have to kill them – but it must be done *sigh*
