What do Carpenter Ants look like?

Carpenter Ants are rather large, black ants. They vary in size from about ³⁄₈ inch to over an inch. Reproductive Carpenter Ants have wings, however the majority will be without wings. The reproductive ants stay in the nest until mating season at which time they will fly away, mate and then begin a new colony. The large ones without wings are called majors. Majors primarily stay around the nest, but will travel short distances. The small ones are called minors or foragers. Minors will travel as far as 500 yards from the nest to search for food. There are other ants that can be mistaken for Carpenter Ants due to their size and color, such as Thatching Ants, but a professional can easily tell the difference.

Where do they live?

Carpenter Ants are social creatures and exist in groups called Colonies. The two kinds of colonies are Parent and Satellite. A parent colony will usually be in a tree, railroad tie, or wooded area outside your structure. These colonies set up satellite colonies in warmer, dryer structures which are more hospitable for the overall health of future broods of ants as they mature.

Carpenter Ants make their home (satellite colonies) in various structures such as fallen trees, live standing trees, homes, sheds and even commercial buildings. We have seen them make their home in solid Styrofoam sheet insulation. Carpenter Ants have hard mandibles (mouthpieces) with which they make burrows in for nesting. Carpenter Ants prefer easily excavated materials that are sturdy enough to maintain their integrity once they have hewn their intricate series of galleries.

What do they eat?

Carpenter Ants do not eat wood, they merely excavate wood creating a warm, secure nesting area. They are omnivorous and will eat sugars, proteins (plant or animal) and even other insects (dead or alive).

Why are they a pest?

The main reason Carpenter Ants are a pest is because they are a wood destroying organism. Unlike termites, Carpenter ants do not eat wood. They carve for nesting purposes. Therefore, if your home is constructed out of wood, in time it could sustain significant structural damage from a Carpenter Ant infestation. Even if your home is made of brick, Carpenter ants may nest in the insulation in the walls.

Control measures:

Dr. Laurel Hansen, an authority in the pest control industry on the topic of Carpenter Ants, has suggested the following on the subject of preventing an infestation:

- Keep vegetation from contact with buildings
- Prevent wood-soil contact
- Increase ventilation to prevent moisture accumulation
- Stack wood off the ground and away from buildings
- Repair leaks in roofs and gutters
- Pre-treat before and during the construction of new buildings

Taken from Dr. Laurel Hansen's personal website.

The most important tool for control is a thorough inspection of your property/structure. When a colony occurs in a structure, it is usually in an area that is enclosed such as a wall void. Valuable bits of information are gathered during the initial inspection, which are essential in locating these hidden sites and setting a course of action. Look for items such as pest activity levels in different parts of the property/structure, pest leavings of various kinds, water damage to the structure, and "sawdust" being extruded. Try to determine whether you are dealing with a Parent Colony, Satellite Colony or both.

Once a thorough inspection has been made, different kinds of control methods can be used such as wall void injection, crawl space treatment, crack and crevice treatments and many others.