The best way to protect your home and property from carpenter ants is to have healthy trees with no decayed parts. If you store firewood or any other lumber for that matter, it should always be stored away from the house and inspected from time to time for any evidence of carpenter ants. When you pick up the firewood to take into the house, thump the pieces of wood against the woodpile to see if any ants fall out. If they do, don’t take that wood inside until you cleared all ants from the wood.
If you have large shade trees near the house, make sure no branches actually touch any part of the house. These branches can serve as bridges for carpenter ants if they happen to be in that tree. The same rule applies to small trees or shrubs along the sides of the home. There should be no branches touching the structure of the house.
Obvious steps are to avoid any situation where water or wetness has a chance to begin the decay of any wood on your home. Clogged gutters, leaky flashing, a leaky roof, or even poorly ventilated attics are all conditions that can lead to problems. Some references recommend not using organic mulch on beds around the house. We disagree with this recommendation. The solution is to always have a 10 to 12 inch strip of bare soil between the house and any organic mulch.
