Was That Wood Damaged By Termites Or Carpenter Ants?

First of all, if you are wondering what is causing your ‘damage’ then it’s high time to call the professionals here at All-American Pest Control. Either way, whether it is termites or carpenter ants, you have a problem that needs to be addressed and addressed quickly and efficiently. Don’t delay, contact us today and have one of our expert technicians come out and do a free (YES! It really is free) evaluation. Then you will know for sure what’s eating away at you! Or, at least at your home!

Now, to answer your first question, is that damage that you are seeing from termites or carpenter ants?

Eastern subterranean termites, which are the most common termites in Nashville, leave some pretty distinctive signs of their presence; here are some of the more obvious and common ones:

• Mud tubes. Mud tubes are small, pencil-sized, tunnels around termite nests, wood structures, and concrete or stone foundations. They are the ‘freeways’ that termites use to travel from place to place.

• Piles of wings left behind by ‘swarmers’. Swarmers are the mature ‘reproductives’ in a subterranean termite colony. Once they are mature enough, they leave their birth colony and fly away to find a mate and a suitable place to start their own colony. They discard their wings once they land and have found their mate. If you are seeing a lot of these wings, be very concerned. You not only have a chance that a new colony is starting up right under your nose, but it also means that the original ‘birth’ colony isn’t far.

• Hollow sounding or visibly weakened wood in and around your home. Termites ‘eat’ the wooden part or parts of the structure of your home from the inside out. They are coming from the ground up; they literally start destroying your home at your foundation level, one of the most critical structural parts of your home.

• The damaged wood will have large amounts of soil and mud inside it from the termites traveling and consuming it.

Carpenter ants are also a wood destroying pest that can inflict great damage to your home; and, quite often, without being detected until it’s too late. Carpenter ants prefer wet or moist wood to burrow in. They do not eat the wood; they burrow in it to create nests. While this may not sound so bad, know that a mature nest can have upwards of 100,000 ants in it. Here are a few signs that you may have a carpenter ant problem:

• Piles of wood shavings or wood dust that the ants have ejected from their nesting site.

• Sightings of actual carpenter ants. Know what these destructive ants look like by clicking here to visit our carpenter ant pest identification page. Just remember; these ants travel quite far to find their meals. They may be just passing through your home or checking it out for food and may not actually reside there. But, don’t let this deter you from having the professionals here at All-American Pest Control check it out to be sure. You would not want to err on the wrong side of this destructive issue.

• The damaged wood will have a clean and polished look to it and be smooth on the inside.

Like we said at the beginning if you have damages to wood and the wooden structure of your home and you think that it could be either of these destructive pests, the best move that you can make is to contact the experts here at All-American Pest Control for a free evaluation. This is definitely a situation that is best handled by professionals. What are you waiting for? You have nothing to lose! Schedule your free evaluation now!