Preventing Carpenter Ants From Damaging Your Lewisville Home

Of all the ants that can get into your Lewisville home, there is no ant quite like the carpenter ant. It is a wood-destroying pest that starts by tunneling in rotted wood and spreads to sound hardwood. If you have these insects in your home, you could be in trouble. Over time, they can do a lot of damage. And many homeowners let them do more damage than they should. This is because they lean toward carpenter ant detection rather than carpenter ant prevention. While it is certainly important to know what carpenter ant damage looks like and how to detect the signs of a carpenter ant infestation, it is better to make your home and yard resistant to carpenter ants. That's what we're going to talk about today: How you can prevent carpenter ants from damaging your Lewisville home.

Step 1: Control Moisture

When you have moisture issues, you inevitably have wood rot. Dampness allows fungi, mildew, mold, and other spores to attach to the wood of your home and begin the process of wood decay. As wood decays, it becomes more and more appealing to carpenter ants as a source of harborage. Some ways that the wood of your home can be damaged by moisture are:

• Overflowing gutters
• Broken gutters or downspouts
• Trenches or depressions near your basement walls
• Leaking exterior spigots
• Leaking pipes
• Dense shade caused by a thick tree canopy or dense vegetation

Addressing conditions that promote moisture and wood rot can go a long way in protecting against carpenter ants and other wood-destroying organisms.

Step 2: Remove Harborage Options

If your yard has dead or rotting wood, you're going to lure carpenter ants in. An obvious example of deadwood is an old stump or log in your backyard. These are a playground for carpenter ants. You may quickly recognize an old fence or deck as a potential attractant. One that often goes under the radar is heart rot. When a seemingly healthy tree has heart rot, it can have hundreds or thousands of carpenter ants inside. If a tree with heart rot is near your home, carpenter ants can quickly become a threat to your equity. Do an inspection of your yard and remove any sources of dead or rotting wood.

Step 3: Remove Food Sources

Carpenter ants have a varied diet. Their primary source of food is the honeydew from aphids, scale insects and whiteflies. This honeydew is a sweet liquid that comes from the sap of plants. If you have plant-eating insects in your landscaping, you're going to attract carpenter ants. Reducing unwanted vegetation can help reduce these insects and the sweet honeydew they create.

Step 4: Seal Entry Points

Carpenter ants don't always chew their way into Lewisville homes. Sometimes they find a gap, crack or hole. Once inside, they gravitate to cool, damp areas where there is suitable wood for harborage. Do an inspection of your exterior walls and use a caulking gun to seal things up. For larger holes, you may need an expanding foam of some kind. Cracks in foundation walls can be sealed with a foundation repair kit.

Step 5: Get Some Help

All the above steps can take a lot of hard work. You're going to have to get out there, roll up your sleeves and put some elbow grease into it. But, when you invest in a residential pest control plan, you don't need nearly as much elbow grease. A residential pest control plan gives your exterior what it needs to get control of pests. And if a carpenter ant infestation is beginning or has already begun, your pest professional will be quick to deal with it.

Lewisville TX Pest Control Experts

For carpenter ant control in Lewisville, consider a residential pest control plan from Adams Exterminating. We also offer coverage for subterranean termites, which can be far more destructive than carpenter ants. Choose a program that meets your specific needs and budget. We make it simple to get started. Request a free home estimate and we will send a pest professional right to you. Your pest professional will take a look at your exterior and let you know what pest pressures you're up against. Once this is done, you'll have the information you need to get the right protection for your home. Reach out to us today. We're here to help!