Older homes do tend to attract carpenter ants more readily, though age by itself isn't the cause. Carpenter ants nest in damp, softened wood, and older Princeton colonials are more likely to have the moisture issues and aging framing that create it, especially with mature trees shading the roof.
If you're in one of Princeton's older homes and keep finding large black ants indoors, the house's age and surroundings probably have something to do with it. But it’s not so much a single season that is causing the issue as the slow and steady accumulation of issues that older homes tend to have.
First, an important distinction. Carpenter ants don’t eat wood. Termites do that. Carpenter ants instead, true to their name, do carpentry with it, excavating it and hollowing out smooth galleries to nest in. They prefer wood that has already been softened by moisture or early rot. Sound, dry lumber is hard work for them. Damp, weathered wood is much easier to work with.
Older homes have aging roofs and gutters that let water seep into places it shouldn’t. Decades-old window sills, door frames, and trim can all hold moisture. That moisture has to go somewhere, and that is often into basements, crawlspaces, and framing. That’s good news for carpenter ants.
The surrounding environment doesn’t help here. Many older Princeton colonials sit among mature hardwoods, and carpenter ants nest readily in old trees, stumps, and dead limbs. A parent colony outdoors will send satellite colonies into a nearby house, using branches that touch the roof or firewood stacked against the wall as the bridge.
If you suspect you might have an ant problem, there are a few things you can look for. One sign is small piles of sawdust, which are wood shavings the ants push out of their galleries. Another is a faint rustling in the walls on a quiet night. And if you see large ants themselves, that’s clear confirmation—carpenter ants tend to be about a quarter inch or larger in size and you can find them in damp areas like kitchens and bathrooms.
If you're tired of finding carpenter ants in a home you've worked hard to keep up, Mosquito Squad of Princeton can help. Mosquito Squad offers treatment that helps control carpenter ants and other perimeter pests, applied by a trained technician, alongside the barrier service that delivers up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity on a 21-day cycle.
