And guess where we have carpenter bees?! Now that's impressive. Although it is a time-consuming and seemingly endless task, treating the entrance holes with an insecticidal spray or dust can reduce future nesting activity. Since active or abandoned tunnels may be used as overwintering sites or can be re-used next spring for Carpenter Ants In Wood Siding nesting, it is important that they be sealed. Carpenter bees carpenter wood siding zoom return to the same hole again and again, and by sealing off the holes, soom eliminate an easy return. She deposits an egg near this pollen ball and then carpenter wood siding zoom off this section of tunnel with a partition made of chewed wood.

Note: Some paint scrapers are made with a handle that can be used as a hammer head for this purpose. Use a power a 5-inch power disc sander to smooth the edges of scraped areas or remove paint—it is lightweight and easy to handle. Mount 7-inch sanding discs onto it for sanding the primary surfaces, and then switch to 5-inch sanding pads for places where you need tighter control.

This video does a good job of showing the scraping and sanding process. Please note that it also shows special gear you can use if you suspect that the existing siding contains lead-based paint. As discussed above, hire a certified pro for this.

Work in 3-foot sections, moving the sander horizontally across the top of each board in a wave-like pattern across the middle and horizontally along the undersides of boards. Holding it at a very slight angle will prevent it from spinning out of control.

Damaged sections of siding will need to be repaired or replaced. Upon completing the steps shown here, dust off the sawdust and caulk any open seams. Prime any bare wood with a latex primer that is tinted toward the finish color, and allow the primer to dry thoroughly before starting to paint. Using a putty knife and vinyl exterior spackling compound, fill any gouges. If you intend to apply a semi-transparent stain, choose matching wood-toned filler instead of spackling compound.

Allow the patch to dry. Patch holes and gouges with wood filler or exterior spackling compound. Use a sanding block or a palm sander with grit sandpaper to sand each patch until it is smooth. Finally, sweep away residual dust and scrapings. Sand the patched area after the patch has dried.

Don Vandervort writes or edits every article at HomeTips. HomeTips articles may contain links to Amazon. How often? Only every month or two. You race to save your home, but at the same time, you wonder why: why do you have carpenter ants in your siding in the first place? If you have ants in your building, do you have a carpenter ant problem? Perhaps, but not always: worker ants can move for long distances to look for food, so they may not be nesting in your building.

However, ants in and around your home could be a sign of a nest close by. If winged ants come out of crevices around your home, this is a strong sign that you have a serious ant problem.

If you have a serious carpenter ant problem, you may find wood Carpenter Wood Siding 90 shavings underneath your siding. Unlike termites, carpenter ants do not actually eat wood. They burrow into it to make their nests, so they leave behind a wood dust. If your patio or siding stays wet, this can attract carpenter ants. They turn wood into dust as they create nesting spaces.

Unfortunately, if they live around your home, sometimes these nesting spaces are your siding. These ants like to live in decaying wood. Wood decays when it becomes damp. The carpenter ants get enthusiastic about this damp wood and set up a home inside it. They cut galleries into the wood to allow them to move from place to place. Since these ants enjoy wet wood, they often nest near decks, porches, eaves, and under windows. These areas are places that often experience leaks.

How can you stop carpenter ants from damaging your structure? This means that you need to keep your home as dry as possible, even on the outside. Make sure that your windows are installed properly and do not have leaks.

Allow water to flow or drain from decks and porches so that it does not sit on the deck and soak into the wood. Install gutter covers or do a gutter replacement project if you notice that your gutters are leaking water or that water and ice are backing up toward the roof. You want your home to be safe, secure, and pest-free. Harry Helmet shares that goal. Contact us today and learn more about our gutter replacement products that will help you reduce moisture damage to your home. Written by Del Thebaud.

Skip to content. Preventing Carpenter Ants How can you stop carpenter ants from damaging your structure? Gutter Helmet Gutters Roofing. Request quote. I recently had the Gutter Helmet by Harry Helmet installed on my house. It not only looks amazing, but the guys arrived on time, were professional and efficiently got the job done.

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