carpenter ants prevention tips

Are Carpenter Ants Attracted to Light?

Unlike termites, which avoid light, carpenter ants are attracted to light and that is why ants in bathroom is a common issue, although they are active mainly at night. Indeed, precisely for this reason, they are probably very attracted to light sources. If the ant invasion has just happened, solving it will be easy.

The fact that carpenter ants are attracted to light is both their instinct and an important signal for you:

  • Mating and continuing the species: They can be small or large, with different roles, taking care of food, eggs or larvae, but all members of a carpenter ant colony are female and sterile. Colony control is under the domination of the queen, who can live as long as 15 years and controls ants through pheromones. Finally, the male carpenter ants are born for the sole purpose of mating and then dying while swarming. As a result, carpenter ants are attracted to light because they have to go out into the world and mate, lay eggs and create new colonies.
  • Building nests in your house: The signal for you is that carpenter ants live in your home. If there are winged ants on the internal windows of the house, because attracted by the sunlight wanting to go outside, it will also be easier to get rid of them, but it is not a good sign. If you find them at home, know that it is impossible for these ants to come from the nest in someone else’s house, so you have a carpenter ant nest in the house. As a result, being attracted to light can help you understand if your house is infested with carpenter ants or not.

In general, however, it is possible to easily see carpenter ants in sunlight, unlike other insects attracted to light, which only activate at night.

But this passion for light does not attract carpenter ants from the inside of your house to the outside, swarming towards the sunlit windows. No, the risk is that the light can also bring the carpenter ants from the outside straight to your home through a path illuminated in the night. In the event that you cannot protect your home from ants, to resolve the situation quickly the best thing is to call a professional ant extermination Toronto.

Outdoor spotlights, street lamps, lights on in the house that can be seen from the outside, lights on the doors … any source of light lit during the night will attract a swarm swarming with carpenter ants towards them. And if these lights are around your house or inside your house, your best bet is to turn off all the lights and shut yourself inside. A problem that arises especially around May, June, July and August, warmer months in which the nights are ideal for swarming carpenter ants.

However, don’t underestimate the spring or fall nights. Carpenter ants are active especially between 8 pm and 5 am., usually looking for food. And a light source could easily affect dozens and hundreds of ants looking for food.

In summer, the problem of carpenter ants trying to get into the house is very serious. To avoid any problems, DIY solutions are fallacious. The best thing is to rely on a professional ant extermination service so that we can protect you from any possible invasion. Or, at least, try it with the help of professionals.

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