Not only do these big black ants lay down unsightly trails across your kitchen counters, but they also burrow into the wood framing, keeping your house from collapsing down onto your head. Homeowners are finding hollowed-out support beams, rotting window frames, and weakened deck structures from Illinois farmhouses to Michigan suburbs.
If you see mounds of sawdust around the wood and hear rustling sounds in your walls, call your pest control service before they do too much damage. Do so by finding an exterminator near me on the web.
Why Are Black Carpenter Ants Increasing In Midwest States?
Carpenter ant inquiries and activity have risen by 35% in Illinois in the last 10 years, according to the latest data. Moisture-damaged wood and poor ventilation in homes built between 1950 and 1980 offer the ideal nesting sites in an aging housing stock in the region.
Plus, all of that rain in the Midwest creates a wet environment in which these ants prefer to set up shop. Urbanization has also driven them out of their forest homes; they are now living in more residential sectors, where they have many wooden materials to inhabit.
Dangers of Black Carpenter Ants
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Structural Damage to Home Foundations
Black carpenter ants can prevent your home from standing by boring a big, elaborate system of tunnels through the load-bearing wooden portions of a house. This damage can be especially destructive in older Midwest homes with wood foundations.
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Window and Door Frame Deterioration
These ants commonly infest window and door frames, particularly in poorly weatherproofed homes. The frames may become loosened or unable to open and close properly.
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Deck and Porch Destruction
Because they are consistently exposed to moisture, outdoor wooden structures such as decks and porches are often the prime targets. Wisconsin homeowners have usually found entire support posts of decks hollowed out by carpenter ant colonies.
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Insulation Contamination
Wall insulation is a common nesting site for carpenter ants. When a Midwest winter hits, the insulation fills with debris, making it far less effective.
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Electrical System Interference
These ants also tunnel through your wiring, damage wiring, and create fire hazards in your home.
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Property Value Reduction
In competitive Midwest real estate markets, visible damage from carpenter ants can account for a sizable cut in your home resale profits.
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Health Concerns from Bites
Although carpenter ants do not possess venom, their bites do result in a painful welt, and if not appropriately treated, secondary infection could occur.
How to Keep Yourself Safe From Them?
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Eliminate Moisture Sources
The first tip is to fix the leaky pipes, improve the ventilation of the basements, and drain the area around the foundation of the house. In homes with moisture in the basement, which is often the case in the Midwest, those pesky ants are just waiting to set up camp.
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Ensure to Remove Decaying Wood Materials
Remove dead tree limbs, old lumber, and decaying fence posts from your yard. Ants can walk over a lot of those materials to reach your house.
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Seal Entry Points Thoroughly
Caulk gaps around windows, doors, and utility penetrations. Look closely at joints between different types of building materials, as this is where the most penetrations occur.
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Trim Vegetation Away from Structure
Maintain a distance of three feet between tree branches and shrubs from your home. Doing this stops the ants from using them as a bridge across to your roof and siding.
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Professional Inspection and Treatment
Reliable Pest Solutions has experience with the unique carpenter ant issues Midwest homeowners contend with. They conduct thorough inspections that find active colonies and areas of infection risk before the problems become widespread.
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Regular Monitoring and Maintenance
Check all wood structures once a month for piles of sawdust, small holes, or the sound of rustling in walls.
