How Having Carpenter Ants Saved Me Money
We just bought our first home this last year, and come spring, found we also bought a kitchen full of carpenter ants. The infestation wasn’t severe. The ants we were seeing were small and non-winged. There were no tell-tale piles of sawdust mixed with ant bits indicating a big nest. We didn’t even hear them in the walls at night. None the less, these wood nesting pests are never considered a good thing to have in your home. They can annihilate walls. While we work to eliminate them, we’ve chosen to look on the bright side. The ways having carpenter ants has thus far saved us money.
Fish food
We first started seeing the ants in the spring, so we assumed they were just waking up outside in the wood shed or some of the old structures that came with the house. It took us some time to realize they were likely in the kitchen walls someplace, decide on our poison, and purchase it. In the time before we set up indoor bait traps to kill the colony, we’d find anywhere from four to ten ants a day and toss them to our gold fish. At first she was unsure about them, but within a few ants we think we may have discovered a new goldfish delicacy-Alaskan carpenter ants. Since we just have one four year old fish, we didn’t have to feed her for about a month saving us on goldfish food.
Fire starter:
As we began working to limit the things that attract carpenter ants by burning old wood and tearing down toasted structures, we discovered that carpenter ant wood burns awesome. It becomes aerated with tunnels and full of sawdust. It lights easy and burns hot making it perfect fire starter or wood for summer wiener roasting fires. Our five acres are littered with ant nested wood, so we saved on fire starter and wood for non-home warming fires as we tore down structures.
Aphid control:
We’re plant people. We may not actually own one for business yet, but we basically own a large scale green house. Aphids, which can wreak havoc on crops, happen to be the favorite food of the carpenter ant. Aphids emit a sticky sweet substance as a byproduct of their food, and so are filled with it. Ants love sweet, so they love aphids. Having a property overrun by ants means there is not a single aphid in sight saving us money on environmentally safe aphid control.
Naturally, these small monetary savings as a result of our ant problem didn’t stop us from trying to kill the colonies on our land, and especially in our home, but it’s always good to look at the silver lining to any problem. You’re sure to find some sort of savings.
More from this contributor:
First Person: The Home Buying Process
Health Risks of Carpet: A Case Against Having Carpet in Your Home
