Can Carpenter Ants Damage Your Salt Lake City Home?

You might see carpenter ants crawling around your home in Salt Lake City, especially during spring or summer. These black ants do not eat wood like termites, but they can still cause damage to your home if left unchecked. This makes it important for homeowners to be proactive in terms of pest control. This can include hiring apest control services at saelapest.com  to help a carpenter ant issue and prevent it from recurring. Experts focus on addressing the underlying cause, which is to get into the colony. Keep reading to know what carpenter ants do, how to spot them, and why they should be dealt with quickly. 

What Are Carpenter Ants?

Carpenter ants are usually black but can also be reddish or a mix of both. They get their name from their habit of building nests in wood. Unlike termites, they do not eat the wood. Instead, they chew through the wood to create tunnels and living spaces for their colony.

These ants are often found in older homes in Salt Lake City, especially where there is moisture. They can set up shop in leaky roofs, wet window sills, or damp basements. 

Can They Damage Your Home?

Carpenter ants might not munch on wood, but they are not harmless. They dig into wooden beams, window frames, and furniture to build their nests. Over time, this tunneling can weaken the structure of your home.

Carpenter ants may create multiple nests throughout the house if the colony grows large. One nest in a support beam or floor joist may not be a big deal, but multiple nests in key structural spots can cause serious damage.

Salt Lake City has hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Any extra damage to your home’s structure can lead to bigger problems with insulation, heating, or water leaks.

How to Spot a Carpenter Ant Problem

You may not notice carpenter ants right away. They are more active at night and often stay hidden inside walls and wood. But you might notice their presence through the signs below:

• Large black ants. Carpenter ants are about ½ inch long. Seeing them inside the house might indicate an infestation.
• Frass. Carpenter ants leave behind a sawdust-like material while digging tunnels. You might find small piles near baseboards or windows.
• Rustling sounds in walls. Carpenter ants might create faint noises if a colony is active inside the walls.
• Winged ants indoors – Seeing winged ants inside is a strong sign of a mature colony nearby.
• Soft or damaged wood. Wood that sounds hollow or feels soft may have been compromised by carpenter ants. 

Why Salt Lake City Homes Are at Risk

Many homes in the Salt Lake area have wooden decks, siding, and framing that carpenter ants can target. Also, moisture from rain, snowmelt, or plumbing leaks create ideal conditions for carpenter ants. These species prefer damp or rotting wood, so homes with older roofs, unsealed windows, or basements that get humid in the summer are especially vulnerable. 

You Cannot Count on DIY Fixes

You might want to grab some ant sprays or bait traps from the store, but carpenter ants are tough to get rid of without the right tools and knowledge. Surface treatments might kill a few worker ants, but the queen and the main nest often stay untouched.

Carpenter ants are smart and may move their nest or split into satellite colonies if they feel threatened. This means your quick fix might only make the problem worse. You can eliminate them by locating and destroying their nest. This often requires drilling into walls, using specialized dust or bait, and sealing off entry points.