Jacksonville, Florida, has an abundance of water. Miles and miles of waterways, beaches, and marshes call residents and visitors alike to explore this never-ending natural playground. Water attractions around Jacksonville are sure to lure people into exploring the area. Still, Trad’s Pest Control in Jacksonville knows that water can also be an excellent attraction for unwanted local pests. One local pest that seeks out moisture-soaked materials is the carpenter ant; if conditions around your property are conducive to carpenter ants’ needs, they will march right in and “set up shop.”

How To Identify A Carpenter Ant

Many of the ant problems experienced by Jacksonville property owners are due to carpenter ants. Carpenter ants in Jacksonville are renowned for damaging wood both inside and outside properties. Since many properties have the resources carpenter ants crave, property owners need to recognize their characteristics.

Characteristics of carpenter ants include the following:

  • Their coloration ranges from rusty-orange/black, all black, to wholly red or brown
  • Six legs hold up their oval, segmented body
  • They have antennae.
  • They are on the large side, measuring ½ to 5/8 inches long

Does One Carpenter Ant Mean An Infestation?

Ants are social creatures; they stick together. If you see one carpenter ant on your property, it is a sure sign that more may be on the way. Carpenter ants do not infest a property until they have done their homework. When a food source is necessary, carpenter ants will send out scouts to locate their essential sustenance. Once the scouts find food, the rest of the colony will start to make its way to the buffet table called your property.

When carpenter ants on your property signal others that suitable food/moisture is readily available, they will access your property from the ground or the air. Carpenter ants can walk across cables or wires attached to your property; they will even use overhanging tree limbs as a bridge to get to your property.

Factors That Attract Carpenter Ants To Your Jacksonville Property

Your typical black carpenter ants are expert excavators of wood; therefore, ant control solutions are imperative. Another species common in Florida prefers to find wood that already has room for them to set up shop. Whichever carpenter ant species invades your property, there is a reason they have picked your property.

Four things that can draw carpenter ants to your property include the following:

  1. Your property provides sweets (especially sugary ones).
  2. Your property has plants that invite insects like aphids, scales, and mealybugs (all unique delights to carpenter ants).
  3. Your property has moisture problems.
  4. Your property has damp, soft, or rotting wood.

The Trick To Getting Rid Of Carpenter Ants

If property owners do not install ant control solutions quickly, infestations can quickly grow out of control. Once carpenter ants have established themselves on your property, ant pest control becomes a challenge to eradicate. At the first sign of a carpenter ant, the best ant control company that property owners can contact is Trad’s Pest Control.

Our professionals can identify problem areas that attract carpenter ants inside and outside your property. Trad’s Pest Control has worked in the Jacksonville area for over 50 years. Our family-operated business is the best ant control company because it is committed to keeping your home pest-free. Our detailed inspections will provide you with a specially formulated ant pest control plan that will alleviate your carpenter ant headaches. Contact Trad’s Pest Control today for your free estimate.