Carpenter Ant Control Metro Vancouver, BC - Westside Pest Control

Previously in the Ultimate Guide to Carpenter Ant Removal we learned how to eliminate a colony of carpenter ants, now one of our technicians shares his insights on the best prevention methods! Remember, carpenter ants are tricky to control, so if you’re unsure what to do give us a call and one our ant control professionals will help you out.

Carpenter Ant Prevention Methods

Carpenter ants are known to be one of the toughest ant species to deal with. Their biology is the main factor in this. They are most active at night, and they carve out their nests inside wood, making them difficult to locate.

Carpenter ants tend to have multiple nests. So even if you find and destroy one nest, that might not mean you’ve eradicated the problem. A single carpenter ant queen can live for 15 years or more and will lay 70,000 eggs in that time. The battle against carpenter ants can often turn into a grinding war of attrition.

Still, there’s a lot you can do to either prevent yourself from getting this problem in the first place, or dealing with it if you do end up sharing your home with these Vancouver pests. And if these difficult ants become too much for you to deal with, don’t worry. Help is just a phone call away.

Preparation for Prevention 

Know who you are up against. Why they might come to your home, and where they might build their nests.

As with most pest control in Vancouver, prevention is critical. It’s often easier and cheaper to stop a pest problem from happening in the first place than it is to deal with one that’s already underway. Carpenter ants are a fact of life in BC, but that doesn’t mean you have to resign yourself to living with them.

As we know Carpenter ants can create multiple nests. While the queen wants high humidity in the primary nest, satellite nests will often be established in drier areas. These can be carved out of perfectly good wood, as well as foam insulation. These types of nests are most commonly found inside homes. 

In short;

  1. They’ll gravitate towards damp, softened wood (typically through leaks)
  2. They will be found in humid areas of your home (basement, bathroom, dryer rooms etc.)
  3. They’ll live inside of the wall voids, so often very hard to detect
  4. They can have multiple nests; parent and satellite colonies

Nesting in rotten wood outside your home

Carpenter ants nest in wood, and the queen needs high humidity in order to lay her eggs. They most often find the perfect spot for a primary nest outdoors, in rotten wood or anywhere that wood comes into contact with soil.

Take a look around your property and pay particular attention to any areas of moist wood. Tree stumps, wood piles, rotten fences – these are all great places if you’re a carpenter ant queen looking to establish a colony. Remove wood wherever possible, especially rotten wood.

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How To Prevent Carpenter Ants From Coming Near Your Home

The best way to avoid damage caused by carpenter ants is to keep your home in good repair, and to prevent opportunities for moisture to rot the wood around the building. This is always a challenge in Metro Vancouver, but the good news is carpenter ants will not start an assault on your home by attacking dry wood although they will set up satellite nests in dry wood or Styrofoam insulation.

The best defense is ensuring that any opportunities for moisture to do damage are minimized.

  1. Make sure your gutters are cleaned regularly to prevent overflow.
  2. Ensure the wood siding of your home is not touching the moist earth around it.
  3. Don’t pile firewood near the house or let branches from trees touch the building.
  4. Remove all stumps and logs from nearby, and check for rotting landscape ties
  5. Make sure you repair all plumbing leaks as soon as they’re spotted.
  6. Finally, don’t forget to plug up potential entry points, such as utility line holes, cracks in the siding or concrete, and anywhere else that might provide ready access (this said, they are small insects so do not worry yourself too much in regards to access)

Investigate areas where you had a leak

Small leaks from pipes inside walls, particularly in bathrooms and kitchens, can end up causing the wooden structure of your home to decay. This is simply inviting carpenter ants to set up a home inside your home.

Treating a carpenter ant nest requires specialized tools and special skills. That’s why it’s a job that’s often best left to professionals. Westside Pest Control has expert technicians with over 10 years of experience in dealing with these troublesome creatures. Give us a call today and see how we can help with your Vancouver carpenter ant problem.

–> Read some extra bonus tips provided by our expert Technician

Westside Pest Control is the no1. Ant Control company in the lower mainland. In addition to carpenter ants, we also treat for Fire Ants and Pavement Ants. If there is a need for professional help with an infestation contact of of the team today on 604-559-9060, we would be happy to help.