Carpenter ants can built big problems

As most of you know my company does a lot of environmental work. Almost all of it involves both commercial and residential buildings. In my travels around the two counties I see lots of wet rot, dry rot, various kinds of fungal growth and carpenter ant damage. Generally, when you see one of the above, the property has all four types of damage. In this week’s article I would like to discuss one of the four elements – carpenter ants.

Carpenter ants do provide an ecological role in the forest ecosystem. A nest of carpenter ants can eat thousands of other insects that cause damage to the forest system. In turn other creatures; Wood Peckers for example, eat carpenter ants.

Here in the Northwest, carpenter ant problems can be costly and difficult to solve. Most folks think they eat wood, actually they don’t, they remove wood as they create galleries and tunnels. They feed on protein and other sources of sugars. They are very attracted to honeydew, a sweet liquids produced by aphids and scale insects. Aphids and scales feed on trees, shrubs and other plants. Indoors, carpenter ants feed on meats, dry syrup, honey, sugar, jelly and other tasty things. Most of their foraging is done at night between sunset and midnight during spring and summer months.

Carpen-ter ant colonies grow slowly. It generally takes several years for a colony to grow to a couple hundred workers. They don’t always nest in wood; they can and do nest in cellulous and fiberglass insulation.

Generally when looking for a carpenter ant nest I look in moist areas; e.g., behind bathroom tiles, around tubs, sinks, showers and dishwashers; under roofing, around attic beans and under subfloor insulation. They like hollow spaces in doors, curtain rods and voids in walls. I use a stethoscope. I get on my hands and knees and place the stethoscope against the wall or object and listen for noise. An active colony will make scratching or chewing sounds. It is not unusual for there to be several colonies in one wall.

Once the colony is found that spot is marked and the hunt continues until I’m fairly sure I’ve found all of the nesting areas. After those areas are identified then I mix up some boric acid and powdered sugar. The area is salted with this mixture. The ants will consume the mixture and go back to the colony and regurgitate its stomach contents for other ants to consume and as a result eventually the colony will die out. If the moisture problem is not fixed, the ants will return.

The restoration of the property to its pre-loss condition can sometimes be a simple fix; however, depending on the amount of damage done can be expensive and time consuming.

When cleaning with any cleaning product, always wear eye protection and rubber gloves to protect your hands. If you would like to share a cleaning idea or concept with the reading audience, call Ed at NWES (208-255-2266) or toll free at 1-877-311-NWES. E-mail them to nwees@hughes. net or send them to Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church St. , Sandpoint, ID 83864, Attn: What Would Ed do? For more information about Ed’s company, check him out at NWESINC. COM.

Copy written by Edmond E. Madan, certified forensic, fire, flood, mold inspection and remediation contractor. Ed is the president of Northwest Executive & Environmental Services, Inc.