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Carpenter Ants

How to identify
Carpenter ants are large, sturdy ants ranging from ¼" to ½". They are predominately black, though some have dark tan or mahogany colorations. Although they play an ecological role by helping to decompose dead and fallen trees, they destroy your home and property.

Carpenter Ants damage your property
Carpenter ants cause millions of dollars of damage every year in the United States by invading the wooden members of manmade structures, including the framing of your home. Re-infestation is a frequent problem unless preventive maintenance is performed.

You can have carpenter ants without obvious visible evidence. Since the ants often dispose of the evidence that they have infested your home, it is difficult to determine the magnitude of the problem. In fact, after chewing wood to make tunnels in which to live, the carpenter ant regurgitates it as soft fluffy sawdust. This sawdust, combined with bits and pieces of insects on which they have fed, is known as frass. Frass is carried from the nest and deposited outside. Frass is one sign of carpenter ant damage, but it is often never found as ants may dispose of frass within a wall void or other inaccessible location.

The problem continually expands
As a colony expands in size, so does the size of its nest. Workers continually cut galleries in the wood to accommodate the enlarging colony. As a parent colony grows, secondary colonies are produced. These "satellites" may be scattered within a 300-foot radius of the parent colony. In three to six years, when winged reproductive ants are formed, the mature colony contains 5,000 or more individuals.

The presence of ants inside does not necessarily mean there is a nest within the structure. Ants seen inside are often foraging ants who enter the structure from outside in search of food. Ants nesting within the structure are more likely to be from a satellite colony than from a parent colony. Parent colonies are most frequently found nesting in trees outdoors; they typically have 3-12 satellite colonies associated with them.

A Penn State University study of carpenter ant behavior concluded that carpenter ants work to reestablish satellite nests from the parent colony almost immediately after the satellites are disturbed. Parent colony ants follow the chemical trails to and from structures for up to three years after a satellite colony is removed. This is one of the reasons why it is difficult to permanently solve the problem of carpenter ant infestation without professional assistance.

How to find and eliminate Carpenter Ant colonies
Locating and eliminating satellite colonies within a structure solves the problem of current ant activity and stops the damage they cause. However, carpenter ants will re-invade your home because:

Multiple satellites are often established once a suitable structure is found.
Parent colonies are usually well away from the structure outside and are difficult or impossible to locate.
Parent colonies may service satellites over a territory several acres in size, and more than one parent colony supporting various ant populations can be located within any given territory - especially where mature hardwood trees are numerous.

How to limit the conditions that attract or support Carpenter Ants

Trim tree branches & shrubbery away from the house.
Clean up leaf litter and remove high weeds near house.
Remove rotted wood landscape timbers, fence posts, tree stumps, etc.
Clear gutters & downspouts of debris
Be sure attics and crawl spaces are vented properly to prevent moisture buildup. Screen all vents.
Drain water away from foundation.
Inspect roof for leaks especially around chimneys and skylights.
Inspect plumbing in kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms for leaks.
Seal cracks around doors, windows, along foundations and roof lines.
Caulk around utility lines entering structure.
Store garbage in clean tightly sealed containers and away from the structure if possible.
Seek professional assistance and consider an ongoing, preventive program.

Buffalo Exterminating is tough on Carpenter Ants
The key to carpenter ant control is properly locating and treating all nests in and around a structure. Considerable expertise is necessary for effective results. The specialized, professional equipment we use allows us to inject commercial-grade products deep into excavated wood galleries. Great improvements have been made with bait technologies in carpenter ant control, so we use the most effective products and place them correctly. Once satellite colonies are eliminated within a structure, outside professional preventative treatments are most effective at deterring ants who attempt to reenter your home from their natural exterior environment.

(Over-the-counter treatments can kill some foraging ants, but they are not as effective at providing consistent, ongoing prevention from re-infestation by ants.)

Preventive Maintenance
Because carpenter ant nests may survive for over 20 years and additional new nests are established each year, Buffalo Exterminating's preventive maintenance program provides regular treatments around the outside perimeter of your building to intercept carpenter ants before they become established. Interior areas are serviced to help monitor activity which might occur inside the building.