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How to Deal with Carpenter Ants in your Garden

April 15, 2021 by Susan Paige Leave a Comment

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Carpenter ants are beneficial to natural environments, feeding on other pests and helping with the decomposition of rotting wood. In the garden, however, they can be a problem. Carpenter ants that are living in your garden may find their way into the house where they will cause a significant amount of structural damage. It is important that you keep their population under control and remove attractants from the garden. If you are worried about the ants in your garden, contact a local pest removal company for carpenter ant control in Toronto. 

Carpenter ants are common all over the world. In Canada, they are nearly 5 times bigger than pavement ants and range from yellow to red to black in colour. Carpenter ants, as their names would suggest, love wood. These insects like to nest in moist, decaying wooden structures and objects like decks, sheds, woodpiles, mulch, and bark. The amount of wood you have in your garden could therefore be attracting carpenter ants to your property. Carpenter ant nests are difficult to find, but can usually be found in these wooden structures, marked by little holes and small piles of sawdust. 

If you want to get rid of the carpenter ants in your garden, consider planting some herbs and flowers that the insects do not like. Plant sage, mint, pennyroyal, tansy, basil, and marigolds around the borders of your garden and trees. If there is mulch in your garden, keep the layer to a maximum of two to three inches deep to discourage the pests from building nests. Keep mulch, firewood, and plants away from the foundation of the home. Ants that are nesting in the garden may use these as bridges into the home where they will build satellite colonies. 

To wipe out a colony yourself, drench the area surrounding the nest with a strong insecticide. Insecticides for carpenter ants are available in hardware stores. Look for one that is suitable for outdoor use and that contains carbaryl diazon or chlorpyrifos. Alternatively, try soaking cotton balls in a mixture of icing sugar, borax powder, and water, then place them on small pieces of tinfoil throughout the garden. Note that some municipalities have rules and regulations surrounding the use of pesticides, so check with your local authority first before using them in your garden. If you are worried about the ants coming indoors, spray some preventative insecticide around the windows and doors of your home. Follow the product’s instructions carefully and use caution.

Getting rid of carpenter ants is best left to the professionals because it is much easier said than done. DIYs are largely ineffective and chemical treatments can be dangerous to children and pets. Professionals have the training, tools, and experience to eliminate carpenter ants for good. They can quickly get to the bottom of your ant issue and provide you with preventative treatments that safely keep pests out of your garden. If you are witnessing some carpenter ant activity on your property, visit theexterminators.ca for more information on carpenter ant removal and control.  

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