It’s a well known fact that carpenter ants nest in walls. When this happens more often than not there’ll be some type of water or water damage to the area within the wall or to an area just outside it. The most likely area where carpenter ants nest in walls are as follows:
- Window frames (above or below)
- Door frames
- Garage door frames
- Where a deck joins the house
- Under roof shingles
The preceding list is just a few of the most popular areas, but keep in mind that a carpenter ant colony can nest just about anywhere. In fact, over my 21 year career I’ve found carpenter ants in some peculiar areas. They’ve been located in hollow doors, hollow curtain rods and a old lazy susan kitchen cabinets just to name a few. All these nests were difficult to find, but in the end they all gave clues as to where they were.
So, the question now becomes how do you find a carpenter ant nest in the walls when there’s no physical evidence other than foraging worker carpenter ants? The first thing to do is listen. Many times a carpenter ant colony will give it’s location away. When carpenter ants nest in the walls of a home sometimes they’ll make a distinctive crackling noise. Some people say it sounds like adding milk to cereal, crinkling cellophane or a very light tapping. If you hear this, you’ve found the colony.
Another way carpenter ants that nest in walls are found is the most obvious, but it’s also the most tedious. It’s possible to find a carpenter ant colony simply by following the ants as they forage through your home. Once you see the ant disappear under a baseboard or into any other crack or crevice there’s a high probability the nest may be located in this area. When found it can then be treated accordingly.
The last way to find carpenter ants that nest in walls will be difficult for a homeowner, but it’s the way most professionals go about finding and eliminating a colony. First, a professional pest control technician will provide a thorough inspection. During this inspection the technician will use an insecticide called a pyrethrin. This material when sprayed into cracks and crevices will agitate the ants and cause the ants to exit the area where they’re nesting. It’s very effective and our company has found numerous ant colonies this way.
Finding a carpenter ant colony can be time consuming, but once the nest is found they’re extremely easy to eliminate. We’ll go over this in another article.
If you suspect that you’ve got carpenter ants call Envirocare Pest Control at 1-888-879-6481. We can help.