Hi folks, I'm Boruch Fishman, and I wish to welcome you to another episode of "Day in the Life of Dovid Davis Pest Specialist." In this broadcast, We're going to explore the life cycle of the carpenter ants , I will share with you some Dovid's techniques for getting this insect pest out of the house

Carpenter ants  are large black, brown and red ants, 3-4 times larger than the typical house ant.  Carpenter ants  make their colonies in trees with thick bark. They live in the trees, breed in the trees, and survive off the wood products of the tree. Their colonies consist of a queen, workers, soldier ants and even slave ants, taken from captured colonies. Carpenter ants  are not attracted to sweets or food like other species of ants. However, they will move indoors when there are fluctuations in the weather. This especially occurs in the late summer and fall when the weather begins turning colder.

While carpenter ants are natural tree dwellers, once they migrate indoors,however,  they will make the house their new home and stay their throughout the winter months They will usually gnaw out a new wood nest, in which they will live.  Indoors, the carpenter ants will begin to burrow into the wood structures of the house. Carpenter ants  are wood damaging insects, and are second only to termites in their ability to chew through wood products. Beginning in February, when the weather starts turning warm, carpenter ants  will begin emerging from the indoor wood nests they have been living in all winter. They initially appear in warm indoor rooms such as the kitchen.

Dovid Davis, the owner of A-1 Pest Control in Baltimore, Maryland  told me that  he starts getting calls about carpenter ants,  which have started to emerge beginning in February,. While the largest number of calls come in February, the ants  will continue making their appearance in the home until the warmer weather of late spring arrives.

Carpenter ants  like termites have a swarming cycle. Swarming begins in the spring when the weather warms. A portion of the ants in the colonies grow wings. Then the male and female swarmers take off in search of a new home. When they find the new location, the now pregnant Queen will ari form the colony, which over time will grow anew.

Dovid gave specific advice as to how  to end a carpenter ant infestation. The homeowner or pest control specialist must first locate the queen colonies and then apply ant poison in liquid or crystal form. If the colony can't be located it is also effective to use poison crystal and sprays on the ant trails. The ants will carry the poison back to the colony and eventually this will cause the death of the Queen and the end of the colony.

The carpenter ant colonies may be found outdoors as well as indoors, and it is important to eradicate every colony that is found. Commercial ant feeding stations with boric acid are also effective; however, they take longer to act. One pesticide treatment is usually effective, but, if the colonies aren't located, several treatments, in areas where ants are seen crawling may be required.

Well folks that's it for another episode of Day in the Life of Dovid Davis Pest Specialist, and I wish you all a pest free day.