When it rains, and in Vancouver, Washington, it rains a lot, homeowners face a challenge in their backyard. Your house becomes prime real estate for carpenter ants, which try to escape the elements when our city sees 42 inches of rain each year. These wood-decaying pests are not merely seeking a dry place, but are seeking wet, rotten wood for their colonies.
During Vancouver’s seemingly never-ending rainy season, which usually lasts from October through May, moisture permeates wood structures, creating ideal living conditions for ant infestations. Carpenter ants can literally eat up your house piece by piece, and they sneak around absolutely undetected by you. If you see any signs of activity, calling pointepest.com will save you from costly repairs in the future.
Why Carpenter Ants Love Vancouver’s Wet Climate
- Moisture-rich environment: Vancouver has high humidity, which means wood will always retain moisture, making it softer and easier for carpenter ants to work on.
- Mild winters: Unlike harsher climates, our winters rarely dip below freezing for long enough that ants enter hibernation. Placing our local ant colonies at an advantage.
- Extended rainy season: More days of rain increase the likelihood of water entering our homes, which is necessary to establish the damp nesting conditions carpenter ants require.
How Rain Impacts Carpenter Ant Behavior
Increased Indoor Migration
When heavy rains lash Vancouver, carpenter ants do not go away; they come indoors. Saturated soil causes outdoor colonies to move, and your home’s foundation, crawl space, and walls are perfectly welcoming. Since colonies are active during the peak rainy months, research shows carpenter ant activity increases by up to 40%. Ants will move into a drier nesting site.
Accelerated Wood Damage
Rain does not just draw carpenter ants inside; it also provides the environment they want. Moisture is trapped in wood structures due to water leaks, roof damage, and insufficient drainage. This softened, moisture-damaged wood is exactly what Carpenter ants tend to seek out because it takes less energy to expel. One colony can consume grams of wood per day, and during the most humid months of Vancouver’s wet weather, multiple colonies can attack your home at once.
Common Areas at Risk in Vancouver Homes
And with nearly 25% of homes in Vancouver built before 1980, the city, along with its rainy climate, has specific vulnerabilities in its older housing stock. Look out especially for these high-risk areas:
- Roof eaves and soffits: The area where rainwater often settles, and now the wood is rotting
- Window and door frames: Gaps and cracks allow damp wood to form, attracting carpenter ants inside and outside your home.
- Crawl spaces and basements: ideally combined with ground dampness, low air flow, and nesting compartments
- Deck posts and outdoor structures: Areas exposed to rain are among the most common places where colonies will establish.
- Bathroom and kitchen walls: Plumbing leaks behind walls are not detected, while they create seemingly ideal conditions for the infestation
- Attic spaces: Roof leaks frequently remain undetected until significant damage is done
When to Call a Professional
The presence of ants does not necessarily mean an infestation, but you must be aware of the signs. If you see them in your Vancouver house on several rainy days, discover tiny piles of wood shavings beside baseboards, or hear ghostly scratching noises in the walls at night, you clearly need help. The source colony is sometimes deep within wall voids or even outside your home, where most DIY treatments are ineffective.
Pointe Pest Control is a carpenter ant treatment company serving Vancouver, and we know how our weather affects the bugs that bother us. Targeted inspection methods help identify hidden colonies, while treatment methods target both the infestation and the moisture conditions that attract the ants.
