1.     Wood to soil contact. Keep soil from touching wood to reduce pest access. If there must be wood to soil contact (on a porch or deck) use pressure-treated wood or material which is insect resistant. Eliminate hollow porch post and columns.

2.     Ventilation and high moisture conditions. Eliminating damp conditions, increasing ventilation and replacing decayed wood, aids carpenter ant management and helps prevent future infestations by the ants and wood destroying fungi. This may include your cellar, crawl spaces or under dirt filled porches.

3.     Flower and shrubbery beds. Adding crushed rock around the foundation instead of mulch will eliminate a food and harborage source for sow bugs, centipedes, millipedes and many other insects. Crushed rock is also a rodent and snake deterrent.

4.     Leaking gutters and roof lines. Keep gutters and roof lines in good repair and free of debris to reduce wood rot. This reduces breeding areas for wood destroying insects. Satellite carpenter ant colonies are usually in areas of moisture damaged wood.

5.     Openings at plumbing, electrical, and telephone line entrances into your home. Sealing openings around these entries reduces access for carpenter ants, stinging insects, and many occasional invaders.

6.     Excessive plant cover around the foundation. Leaves and other debris under decks, in window wells, and behind bushes should be removed to eliminate decaying organic matter which may provide a food source or harborage for insects such as sow bugs, centipedes and millipedes.