Carpenter ants in your home?
Do you have carpenter ants in your home or business? Don’t wait for the infestation to spread and several nests to form. Have a carpenter ant extermination carried out quickly by professionals!
The biology of the carpenter ant
- Length: 6 to 25mm
- Colors: Black, red and black, brown
- Life expectancy for manual workers: 7 years
- Queen life expectancy: 17 years
- Reproduction: The queen lays an average of hundreds of eggs per year
- Population: about 2000 in a mature anthill
Recognizing the carpenter ant problem
- Presence of sawdust
- Crackling noises in the wall
- Presence of visible ants, even in winter
- Presence of holes in the wood e.g. doors, windows, patios and beams
- Presence of ants on the exterior foundation
HOW TO SOLVE THE CARPENTER ANT PROBLEM?
- Avoiding the accumulation of wood around the house
- Leave fire pit logs outside
- Caulking doors and windows
- Repairing Decaying Wood on Your Home Structure
- Avoid humidity indoors
- Don’t leave food lying around
- Clear the brush around your house (vines, grass, plant, tree branch)
- Carry out the extermination as quickly as possible
Cover on carpenter ants
The carpenter ant Camponotus pennsylvanicus is the number one structural threat to wood buildings in Quebec. In Longueuil and the South Shore, our interventions mainly target the wooden triplexes of Old Longueuil and Saint-Hubert. In Brossard and sector DIX30, wooden houses in sectors A to R are affected mainly at the level of floor joists. Our South Shore carpenters service combines thermographic inspection and gel bait treatment. In Boucherville, Old Boucherville concentrates wet frameworks infested by dead tree stumps. Further east, in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and the surrounding area, the open-frame heritage buildings of Old Saint-Jean require specific expertise. In Saint-Hyacinthe (Maskoutains), farmhouses and old buildings in the downtown area account for the bulk of annual cases.
Did you know?
Carpenter ants don’t eat wood! As one might imagine, carpenter ants destroy wood with their mandibles to expel it from their tunnels. This therefore considerably affects the structure of the wood, in other words, that of your home.
Methods used for carpenter ant extermination
To get rid of carpenter ants in the long term, you need to eliminate the queen, which is the breeder of the mother colony and other satellite colonies that are in your home. You can place bait on the floors of the house that the ants bring to others as well as to the queen. An insecticide can also be applied to at-risk surfaces.
Nova Extermination’s specialized technicians will solve your problem quickly and sustainably. We offer our affordable carpenter ant extermination service in all cities on the South Shore of Montreal. We have mastered the techniques to carry out carpenter ant extermination, and we use insecticides approved by the Ministry of the Environment to solve the problem.
DANGER TO THE LOAD-BEARING STRUCTURE OF YOUR HOME
The carpenter ant is dangerous for the load-bearing structure of your home. Indeed, this insect chews through the wood to make galleries and build its nest in the floors, walls or attic of your home. Carpenter ants do not eat wood chips. They only dig into the wood of the framing beams, and then they reject the chips. The accumulation of wood chips in certain areas of your home can indicate the presence of carpenter ants.
TO PREVENT ANOTHER INFESTATION
Once our carpenter ant extermination has been carried out, it is then necessary to Caulking entry points through which ants could return: holes and cracks around doors, windows and floors; foundation cracks; telephone cables, etc.). Nova extermination technicians can, if desired, carry out this caulking for you. Our company has a license in good standing from the Régie du Bâtiment du Québec (RBQ: 5734-75930-01) as well as from the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) to carry out the necessary caulking work. We are also protected by comprehensive liability insurance to carry out this work.
To prevent a new carpenter ant infestation, care must also be taken to replace rotten lumber while reducing humidity and water infiltration. It is also important to store food in leak-proof containers and keep floors and countertops clean, free of food seeds. Also be sure to cut tree branches that touch your house, and uproot old stumps. Also, check the firewood you bring into the house.
Information about carpenter ants
It is important to be able to tell the difference between each type of ant. Carpenter ants are one of the most harmful to your environment, as they can cause costly damage to your home. The extermination of carpenter ants should be carried out at the first signs you see.
Contact Nova Extermination for a complete extermination of the carpenter ants that invade your home.
Contact us for more information
If you wish to have the carpenter ants exterminated in your home, apartment building, business or professional building on the South Shore, contact our experienced team. Nova Extermination is an exterminator that holds all the necessary permits to carry out the extermination of carpenter ants. Our carpenter ant extermination techniques comply with the regulations of the Ministry of the Environment.
You can contact us by email or by phone at 514-MON-NOVA for an extermination of ants in a house or in a business. We cover all cities on the South Shore.
Frequently Asked Questions: Carpenter Ants
How to recognize a carpenter ant infestation?
Carpenter ants are among the largest in Quebec (6 to 13 mm), usually black, and leave behind small piles of fine sawdust (frass) resembling pencil shavings. They are often seen in the evening, and a faint rustling in the walls can betray their activity. In Saint-Bruno and Beloeil, they are common in houses surrounded by trees and damp wood.
Do carpenter ants eat wood like termites?
No, they do not consume the wood: they dig it to build their galleries and house the colony, favouring damp or already damaged wood. Over time, these smooth, clean galleries can weaken structural elements such as joists, window frames, or decks. It is this potential for wood damage that makes this species of particular concern.
Where do the carpenter ants that settle in my house come from?
They often first nest outdoors in stumps, dead trees, or damp firewood, and then establish satellite nests indoors in wood exposed to moisture. Water infiltration, roof leaks and wood in contact with the ground promote their installation. Reducing humidity is an essential part of control in Montérégie.
How is a carpenter ant treatment performed?
Our technician inspects the interior and exterior to locate the main nest and satellite nests, following the tracks and frass tracks. The treatment combines strategically applied registered products and baiting, with recommendations to correct moisture sources. Precisely locating the nests is crucial, which justifies the intervention of a professional.
What is the cost of a carpenter ant treatment?
The price is established on the basis of an evaluation, depending on the extent of the situation, the location of the nests and the extent of the wood affected. Since the inspection may reveal multiple homes, a fixed amount cannot be given in advance. The technician will present you with the price before the work, as all our services are subject to a fee.
Can you guarantee that carpenter ants won’t come back?
We aim for sustainable results evaluated on a case-by-case basis, because the return also depends on factors such as humidity and the proximity of dead wood on your property. Eliminating nests and correcting favourable conditions greatly reduces the risk of recurrence. Our technician advises you on the corrections to be made to the building rather than promising an absolute warranty.