The Ants go marching one by one, the little one stops to suck his thumb
The Ants go marching down, around, and through the town.....
(origin unknown/writer unknown)
Okay so this is the song that is running through my head! Why? Well maybe it's because I have kids who sing silly songs... And maybe it's because I've seen a LOT of ants around Portland and Vancouver lately! Probably a combination of those two things! I caught an inseminated carpenter ant marching towards my house to find a place set up her colony. The only galleries allowed in my house are set up by children with art they've done... Not carved out by carpenter ants destroying my home-- that ant tried messing with the wrong guy! After all, I am a pest control professional-- naturally I exterminated the potential problem with one crushing blow (no product necessary for this job-- my shoe was the natural choice).
Carpenter ants can cause some pretty serious problems if they do become established in a wooden structure such as a home, garage, shed, fence, business building, etc. The cost of getting rid of a colony early is far less than letting the infestation grow to the point of causing structural damage. Because Carpenter Ants carve out galleries (smooth tunnel systems) in wood, they cause structural damage when the wood supporting a structure is compromised by extensive carving.
Carpenter ants are different than termites, people are often surprised to find out that they do not eat wood, they carve it out and leave a sawdust at the ends of their tunnels (this sawdust is not always in places where people will notice-- so just because their is no sawdust it is not safe to assume ants in the house are not carpenter ants). Termites actually eat wood and have mud tubes and dirtier and less smooth tunnel systems. There are other differences between carpenter ants and termites, but that is another blog for another day... Today I'm just focusing in on ants!
There are many types of ants that can infest a home and they range in size from about 1/16th of an inch to 5/8ths of an inch. There are sugar ants, odorous house ants, carpenter ants, moisture ants, ghost ants (they're real and alive). Many types of ants are a nuisance but cause no structural damage, but there are ants that do cause damage so it is always a good idea to have a Pest Control Professional, come out and do an inspection.
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