Carpenter Ant Exterminator & Ant Control in Paramus, NJ

Why carpenter ants are so common in Paramus homes

Paramus is best known for its malls, but most of the borough is quiet residential streets: ranches, capes, split-levels and colonials, many built in the decades after World War II, on lots with big shade trees. Parts of town sit near the Saddle River and the woods of Van Saun County Park. That combination is exactly what carpenter ants like.

A carpenter ant colony usually starts outdoors, in a hollow tree, an old stump, a woodpile or a landscape timber. As it grows, it sends workers out at night looking for food, and sometimes builds satellite nests inside a house. Those indoor nests are almost always in wood that has gotten wet:

• Window frames and sills where caulk has failed
• Roof edges and soffits where gutters overflow
• Walls around a bathroom, dishwasher or ice-maker line with a slow leak
• Porch posts, deck ledgers and sills where wood sits close to soil
• Hollow doors, foam board and insulation in damp spots

Carpenter ants don't eat wood the way termites do. They chew out smooth galleries to live in and push the shavings out. Over a few years, a busy colony can weaken a sill, a window frame or a deck board.

After the colony is gone: repairing carpenter ant damage

Once the nest is treated and the activity stops, the damaged wood is still there. Small galleries in trim may only need patching. A sill plate, window frame, post or deck ledger that's been hollowed out can need real repair.

We can repair wood that carpenter ants damaged, the same way we repair termite damage. That means one company for the treatment and the fix, and the person repairing it knows what caused it. Before closing anything up, the moisture problem that attracted the ants has to be solved, or the next colony will move right back in.

More on wood damage repair and the carpenter ant control page.