Do I Have Carpenter Ants?

Carpenter ant near the wall of a basement

Ants flying around inside your home may be the reproductive drones of a carpenter ant colony. Look for small, round excavation holes in wooden structures in your basement, crawl space, deck, or porch. Carpenter ants create these holes to discharge the sawdust-like wood shavings they produce while tunneling.

It can be frustratingly difficult to find conclusive signs that you have a carpenter ant problem. The ants tend to tunnel through deep or inaccessible sections of wood. Their tunnels tend to be impossible to spot until they start causing serious problems. By learning more about what ants are all about, however, you can be better at spotting them. This is what you should know about carpenter ants, including how to tell if you have them.

What are carpenter ants?

Carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) are some of the largest and most common ants in Michigan. They’re also one of the most common home-invading pests in Michigan. Like other ants, carpenters live in large eusocial colonies where different castes perform different roles. Unlike most ants, colonies live inside wooden structures by hollowing them out from the inside. In the wild, they usually nest in decomposing trees, logs, or stumps. They can also tunnel through homes!   

Carpenter ant workers look like sugar ants, but they’re larger and have evenly-rounded thoraxes. Most workers are ¼ to ½” long. Carpenter ant drones are even larger, and they have flight-capable wings. Drones are often confused for termites, but you can tell them apart by looking at their antennae. Carpenter ants have distinctive “elbowed” (curving or “L-shaped”) antennae, whereas termites have straight, beaded antennae. You’ll probably see the ants crawling on or near wooden structures. 

Carpenter ants outside of an entrance to their colony

Why are carpenter ants a problem?

Contrary to popular belief, carpenter ants don’t actually eat wood. Carpenter ants tunnel through wooden structures to build large, complex “galleries” for their colony to live inside. As the colony grows, the ants continue to work their way deeper through the infested wood. In the meantime, the ants will continue to hollow out larger and larger segments of wood. Ant workers reduce the wood they tunnel through to a sawdust-like substance and transport it out of the colony. 

Obviously, hollowing out the inside of a wooden structure compromises its structural integrity. Over time, carpenter ants could seriously damage the wood they infest–and any structures that wood supports! If the ants hollow out enough wood, they could trigger the collapse of load-bearing structures such as support beams. Ant tunnels also tend to make wood more vulnerable to moisture accumulation and mold growth, which could lead to further problems.

Do I have carpenter ants?

The most obvious sign of a carpenter ant infestation is the presence of winged ants inside your home. If there are flying ants inside your home and it’s not mating season, then you probably have an infestation. Workers themselves may venture indoors during summer, but seeing them during winter is a bad sign. Look for workers around any exposed wooden structures, especially in naturally damp or humid parts of the home.

You should also look for small, circular openings on the surface of the wood. These holes are where worker ants expel the sawdust-like shavings they create when tunneling through the wood. If you find shavings or dust accumulating under these openings, your infestation is quite active. Remember: carpenter ants attack moist, humid, or damaged wood. If you’re worried you have an infestation, check wood that fits this description first.

Carpenter ants working on tunnels in wood

What can I do about carpenter ants?

Tunneling through wood dries out carpenter ants very quickly. Workers require a constant source of moisture to re-hydrate if they’re going to remain active. For this reason, the ants almost exclusively target wet or moist wood. If they can re-hydrate while they tunnel, they’ll never have to stop working on their colony. By making sure wood around your home is dry, treated, and protected, you’ll keep ants from preying on it.

First, look for and fix possible plumbing leaks inside and outside. Make sure your outdoor gutters, downspouts, and drains are direct water away from your home effectively. Find places where wood contacts the ground and cover that wood with plastic sheets or barriers. Trim down branches, shrubs, or other “bridges” carpenter ants could use to access your home. Inside, dehumidify your basement, crawl spaces, and other lower levels as well as possible. Replace any damaged or soiled wood ASAP.

 

The faster you find a carpenter ant infestation, the more potential damage you can prevent. Watch for these signs of infestation, but look out for the vulnerabilities that may lead to infestations, as well. Protect wooden structures in your home, keep them dry, and watch for cracks and gaps ants could exploit. 

If you’re worried you have carpenter ants in your home, don’t hesitate to give Griffin Pest Solutions a call. Our experts locate your ants, remove them, identify how they got in, and ensure they won’t get in again. If you see the telltale signs of carpenter ants, just call right away. We’ll make sure your home stays whole.

Pests That Wake Up in Spring

Pests that wake up in spring

The whole world seems to come back to life in spring. Unfortunately, “the whole world” includes some things we wish would stay sleeping. Along with grass, flowers, trees, and birds, a whole host of Michigan’s most annoying pests wake up every spring.

When pests wake up in spring, they’re usually hungry, thirsty, and ready to find mates. To make up for their long winters off, they tend to pursue these activities ferociously. Their single-minded pursuits make pest problems all-too-common this time every year. Here are the pests you’re bound to run into this spring, what they’re up to, and the problems they cause.

Boxelder bugs

boxelder bugsStarting in early fall, boxelder bugs go looking for dry, warm places where they can wait out the winter. Unfortunately, those dry, warm places often include our homes. When spring comes around, boxelders become active again to seek their newly rejuvenated food sources and, eventually, to reproduce. When that happens, they vacate their winter hideaways en masse. If they were hanging out in your home over winter, you’re going to run into them again this spring.

Boxelder bugs are obviously a nuisance, but luckily they’re not a dangerous one. These pests don’t bite, spread disease, eat fabrics or stored foods, or lay eggs indoors. Instead, they simply vacate the premises to seek the seeds and flowers of acer trees like the boxelder. The nuisance part comes from how many of the gross bugs you may notice vacating. Boxelder excretions and feces may also stain window ledges and other favored areas.

Stink bugs

stink bugsStink bugs follow a similar seasonal routine to boxelder bugs, and they’re around for the same reasons. During fall, they desperately seek out any warm place where they can wait out the winter. Once they’re in position, they go dormant until outdoor temperatures rise back up to survivable temperatures. Once that happens, they wake up with one thing on their mind: mating. In their mad scramble to get back outdoors, however, they tend to get lost… or stuck.

Like boxelder bugs, stink bugs don’t reproduce or nest indoors, cause disease, or bite. They do… stink, however. When threatened or crushed, stink bugs secrete a foul-smelling substance from a special scent gland. This scent smells like rotten vegetables or coriander. The more stink bugs secrete at once, the more powerful the stench. These secretions can also leave behind a dark yellow stain on carpets, furniture, or window sills.

Carpenter ants

carpenter antsDuring spring, the infamous wood-infesters come marching in to build their nests and search for water. Carpenter ant invasions tend to be the most noticeable during the start of the season. Starting in mid spring, the reproductive carpenter ant castes swarm in order to seek mates and start new colonies. After mating, queen ants seek good places to lay their eggs. These eggs hatch into workers, and the infestation begins in earnest.

Carpenter ants are a problem because they make their colony nesting grounds by boring through wood. The tunnels they carve compromise the structural integrity of wood products. Carpenter ants don’t actually eat the wood they infest. Instead, they have to hunt for sources of protein and sugar. You may find foragers in your kitchen, basement, or garden. Keep a close eye out for swarmers, in particular. If these flying ants get trapped in your home, chances are their nest is also inside your home.

Pavement ants

pavement antsUnfortunately, carpenter ants aren’t the only ants reproducing and foraging in the spring and summer. In late spring, the brief but very active pavement ant mating season begins. During this time, you may notice swarms of larger-than-average, reddish-black ants flying in large clusters. After mating, pavement ants lay eggs in tight crevices (hence their association with pavement, and the cracks in it). When young pavement ants emerge, they start looking for food almost immediately.

Pavement ants are most often encountered in groups in your kitchen. They break down and carry off all sorts of stored food, especially grains and sugars. When they find food, they tend to stick around. It’s not uncommon to find ants infesting cabinets, pantries, cupboards, and anywhere else they could find food. They’ll attack any scraps they can get their mandibles on. Unlike other pests on this list, they can stay active as long as they’re warm and they have food.

 

Spring should be a wonderful, refreshing time of year–especially after a brutal Michigan winter. Don’t let pests ruin that for you. If you need some help fighting back an infestation so you can enjoy the nice parts of spring again, give Griffin a call. We can deal with the dirty work so you can enjoy the rest.

The Most Common Pest Problems in Michigan

The Most Common Pest Infestations in Michigan

Every human-populated region on earth deals with its own host of pest problems, and Michigan is no exception. Many of the same features that make Michigan so great–our forests, our interconnected metro areas, our proximity to water–also bring pests from far and wide. Some of these pests comprise a serious, long-lasting threat to the health of the local ecosystem. Some are just out to ruin your day.

We’ve talked at length about the first variety before, so now we’re covering the problems a bit closer to home. These are the four varieties of pest that you’re most likely to encounter in your home. Chances are, you’ve dealt with at least one of these ne’er-do-wells before–even if you didn’t realize it. Here are the Michigan pest “usual suspects”, and how to keep them from bothering you.

Stink bugs

stink bugThe brown marmorated stink bug is Michigan’s newest nemesis, but it’s more-than made up for lost time. The stinky pests are mostly a problem for farmers, since they’re notorious for eating crops. They really only bother households during the fall and spring, when they’re either looking to get warm or trying to get back outside. Even if they infest homes, they don’t reproduce indoors, inflict property damage, or eat human food or fabrics. If you’ve never had them before, you’d be forgiven for thinking stink bugs don’t sound like “pests” at all!

Then you remember what they’re called. When crushed, threatened, or congregated, stink bugs secrete a gross-smelling liquid from specialized glands. The more of it there is, the stronger the smell. Stink bugs often congregate around sunny perches by the hundreds. The best way to deal with stink bugs is by vacuuming them up and throwing out the vacuum bag. Afterward, wipe down surfaces stink bugs walked over to remove the scent and pheromones they may have left behind.

Rodents

rodentsAdmittedly, mice and rats aren’t just the among the most common of pests in Michigan. Anywhere people live, chances are mice and rats are scampering around trying to live alongside them. They’ve been at it long enough, in fact, that rodents have evolved into the ultimate human-home infiltrators. Mice and rats use their sense of smell and amazing ability to sense minute air currents to find ways into homes. They don’t need to find much either; mice and rats can squeeze through unbelievably tiny openings.

Mice and rats may live in your home all year, but they’re particularly prevalent in early to mid fall. As soon as they sense the season begin to change, they’ll start looking for a warm shelter. Rodents use small openings around foundations, utility lines, or window and door frames to get into homes. Finding cracks and gaps like these and sealing them up is the best way to prevent future rodent problems today.

Carpenter ants

carpenter antsDespite being equally prevalent, carpenter ants are often mistaken for their cousins the sugar, pavement, or field ants. Unfortunately, though carpenter ants may look like their less-distressing cousins, they don’t behave like them at all. Most ants may be content to pursue your home’s food, but carpenter ants have another prize in mind: your home itself. Specifically, the wood your home is made of. Carpenter ants are second only to termites in terms of their wood-destroying, property-damaging potential.

Unlike termites, carpenter ants don’t eat the wood they destroy. Instead, they simply tunnel through it to build their ever-expanding colonies. The ants infest wood that’s moist and easy to bore through, so the best way to prevent them is moisture control. Ensure your plumbing isn’t leaking and your attic, basement, and crawl spaces aren’t too humid. Dispose of any water-damaged wood as soon as you find it, so that carpenter ants won’t.

Bed bugs

bed bugsAs we’ve explained before, everyone’s least-favorite bedfellows have had quite the renaissance in recent years. After developing resistances to the chemicals used to kill them, bed bugs began repopulating at a startling rate. Even worse, the bed bugs’ natural inclination to hide in cramped, dark, and warm places means they are nature’s ultimate hitchhiker. Before we knew what hit us, Americans had transported bed bugs all over the country by plane, train, and automobile. Unfortunately, Michigan wasn’t spared even a little.

Contrary to name and reputation, bed bugs don’t just infest beds. Instead, they gravitate toward any location that’s dark, sheltered, cramped, warm, and near food. It just so happens that beds tend to satisfy those requirements–you’re the food! Find bed bugs by looking for bloody or dark patches on sheets and linens. Prevent them by changing and washing your sheets frequently, and by thoroughly inspecting luggage you bring into your home.

We realize it can’t be comforting knowing that your home state plays host to such a rogue’s gallery. That’s why we’ve decided to end on a bit of good news. Griffin Pest Control has been fighting these common pests right here in Michigan since 1929. As you might suspect, all that practice has made us pretty darn good at it.

Next time you need help clearing out an infestation, or making sure you never get one, give Griffin a call today. We’ve helped thousands of Michigan residents before, and we’re always happy to help you too.