Carpenter Ants Extermination
and Pest Control in Toronto
Carpenter Ants Extermination
We deliver non-intrusive Carpenter Ants Extermination and Pest Control in Toronto utilizing latest technology in Bait matrix formulation by Bayer® or BASF®. This approach is fool proof and does not require you to empty cabinets or vacate your residence!
Carpentar ant is one of the most common structural pests found in and around the home. They are attracted to wood which has been exposed to moisture. Carpenter ants tunnel and make nests in soft wood, however, they do not eat the wood. The largest of the ant family, the carpenter ant ranges from 1/4 to 3/4 inches (3/5-2 cm), has a constricted waist, bent antennae and is black, reddish-black or brownish black in colour. Any wooden areas (porch, tree, veranda, step, door, etc.) which become moist are vulnerable to carpenter ant attack.
This is particularly true of rotting sections of wood. The worker ant finds an entry route by gnawing a clean tunnel parallel to the wood grain wherever a crack or crevice exists. The wood is chewed and discarded outside the tunnel. The discarded shavings, which resemble sawdust, provide an indication of nesting areas. Often, the nest is extended into sound wood. Carpenter ants must leave their wooden tunnels to search for food. Popular food sources consist of aphid honeydew, other insects (living or dead), plant juices, and food (fats, sugar and other sweets) found in the home.
Carpenter Ants are among the largest of the common pest ants.
Life Cycle
Carpenter ants are commonly wingless, non-reproducing adults of the worker caste. All ants live in large groups or colonies consisting of hundreds of workers, a few reproductive males and females as well as at least one queen. Mating takes place in flight by winged ants during late spring and early summer. Shortly after, the male dies and the single fertilized queen ant finds a suitable nesting place to lay eggs and begin a new colony. The small, white, oval eggs hatch into larvae. The queen continues nourishment until the larvae pupate and adult ants emerge. If warm temperatures exist, the egg to adult cycle can be completed in three months. At first, the colony is small, however, in later years the population can increase to 2000-3000 ants.
Control
Monitoring In order to control carpenter ants, it is very important to locate the nest. Monitoring may be most effective at night as this is when the ants are most active, leaving the nest to search for food. Some helpful facts to remember when monitoring for carpenter ants are that they tend to follow a definite trail and they make rustling sounds while in their nests which can be heard if the surrounding area is quiet.
Understanding the habits and life cycle of the carpenter ant can be useful in its control. They are most active and cause most damage during warm summer months. Carpenter ant control may be achieved by the following: reduce or prevent excess moisture in wood; remove possible food sources; avoid storing wood inside or close to the house for long periods of time; remove any decaying wood found around the home and practice good sanitation measures.
Remove attractive food sources; store food and garbage in sealed containers to decrease attractions for carpenter ants; caulk openings or install barriers on areas which could act as entrances for ants; and provide good ventilation inside the home. If a nesting site is found, determine the extent of the damage. If structural damage has occurred, it may be necessary to remove the damaged section and the section containing the nest. If damage is minor or removal of the wood is not possible, use a high suction vacuum to remove the ants. This should greatly reduce the colony, however, it may not totally eliminate the problem. Be sure to discard the vacuum bag in a tightly sealed garbage bag.
Our preferred extermination technique for an infestation of Carpenter Ants
We would inspect and determine if Bait or Spray is more appropriate in the given situation.
Typically, if the ants inside the property are interested in foods, we would deploy suitable baits. Carpenter Ants will find this bait during their foraging activities. Carpenter Ants will not only feed on this bait but also carry it back to the nest to feed the Carpenter Ants that are devoted to maintaining the colony. Some Carpenter Ants may have multiple feeding on the deployed bait as the bait’s lethal characteristics do not become evident immediately upon ingestion.
So in most situation, by about 5 weeks time, most Carpenter Ants would have become affected by the hidden poison in the bait. We expect that all Carpenter Ants would have expired by now. The bait is usually in the form of a paste or a gel or is granular.
Expected Results:
When the Carpenter Ants finds the Bait during normal foraging activities and ingests it as desirable food, then Carpenter Ants is considered to have had a lethal dose. The Carpenter Ants expire after some time having been affected by the presence of the active ingredient of the Bait in the Carpenter Ants’s physiology. The Carpenter Ants gets sick and dies off. The body debris of dead Carpenter Ants acts as secondary source of poisoning for the remainder population of Carpenter Ants. Thus the pest’s nesting environment is also turned into a terminal trap.
Warranty:
Our standard service includes a 7 months limited warranty. It may takes between 3 to 5 weeks for entire of the Carpenter Ants infestation to die off. If the infestation does not completely die off or if the Carpenter Ants infestation revives, then we deliver a second application free of cost. In rare instances where a 3rd application visit is requested within 7 months, it is considered an exceptional situation and a fee of 28% is charged for the service.
