How to Check for Carpenter Ants
Carpenter ants are bothersome when they come out in the warmer weather and are found in parts of the home, such as the kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom. When you see 20 or more large winged and/or wingless ants indoors in the daytime in one location, it is possible that the colony may have a nest. If you see only a few ants, they may simply be looking for food with the nest located outside. There, they are frequently seen scurrying over plants and tree trunks or living in moist, partly rotten wood stumps. Homeowners frequently have misconceptions about carpenter ants, and the information below will provide the necessary information. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Learn the difference between carpenter ants and termites. Carpenter ants do not eat wood. They cause damage by removing wood in order to lay their eggs and tend their young. Unlike termites and some wood-destroying beetles, carpenter ants do not gain any nutritional benefit from the wood itself. Carpenter ants do not attack a piece of dry wood, so cannot destroy a home overnight like some of the horror stories say. They prefer wood that has already been damaged by moisture.These pests may not even damage the wood, if they can find a secluded place with adequate warmth and humidity. It is possible that it may not even be wood, but curtain rods, garden hoses and poles on children's swings.
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Look at pictures to know how to identify the ants. Carpenter ants are usually one-quarter to one-half inch in size. In the United States, they are normally black. Make sure that you have more than just a few wandering ants. Sometimes they will enter a house while they are looking for a nesting place, or queen ants will fly inside. These occasional ants may not be causing problems.
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Check in your house for evidence of a nesting place. In warmer areas, like Florida, nests are commonly found in moist, hollow spaces like the wall behind dishwashers. Throughout the U.S., they may be hidden behind a wall in the kitchen or bathroom, or perhaps from wood dampened by a leaky roof in the attic. They also prefer window and door frames and sills, as well as tub enclosure walls, bath plumbing walls and moist parts of basements. Look for piles of sawdust. Wood damaged by carpenter ants contains galleries that are very clean and smooth.
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Conduct your searches in the evening when the ants are the most active. They will be looking for food. Drop small pieces of food and follow an ant back to the nest after it picks up this tasty snack. If you do not see ants, but suspect that they are in the wall, tap lightly in the area. You will hear a sound like crinkling cellophane. Do not give up after only finding one nest; there may be several in or near your house.
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Do not panic if you find a carpenter ant's nest. Unlike termites, it takes a long time for major damage to occur. Actually, these ants will point out where there is moist or rotted wood that needs to be repaired. Exclude carpenter ants from buildings by caulking cracks and blocking other entrances whenever possible. Trim branches and limbs of trees and shrubs that touch the building to keep ants from gaining access to these routes. Eliminate food sources inside the building or prevent access to suitable food by keeping it in ant-proof containers. Once colony openings are located, apply insecticide formulations (containing materials such as permethrin, cyfluthrin, boric acid, or disodium octaborate tetrahydrate) or desiccant dusts through these openings and other holes drilled into the galleries.
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Tips & Warnings
Although these dusts to eliminate ants are not toxic, wear a mask when spraying. It is not healthy to inhale them.
Resources
- Photo Credit www.ent.uga.edu/pubs/homeipm.htm
