Identification
Carpenter ants range in color from tan to black and are usually 1/4 - 3/8 inch-long. They are some of the largest ants found in homes and yards. The most common indoor species has a black tail (abdomen) and reddish-brown head and thorax, though the winged forms of this ant may be entirely black. Other carpenter ants (workers, swarmers) can range in colors from yellow to black. Possible distinguishing characteristics of these ants can include a pinched waist, elbowed antennae (these characteristics also distinguish ants from termites), a single bump or node between the abdomen and thorax, and an evenly sized rounded thorax (if viewed from the side with a hand lens.)
Life Cycle & Reproduction
Most ant colonies start with a single fertilized queen who creates a nesting site in a wood cavity. She raises the workers, which survive eating on her salivary secretions. These first workers gather food and feed the newer larvae. As more and more larvae mature and more worker ants can gather food, rapid growth of the colony occurs. It can take a colony up to six years to reach a mature stage. Once at this stage, a colony may contain more than 2,000 workers, and can begin to produce young queens and males. In the spring, these mature colonies produce winged reproductive ants, called swarmers, which fly out to begin new colonies. It can often be possible for indoor colonies to spread to “satellite colonies”, so homeowners may see large swarms of flying ants inside their homes at night.
Behavior
Large carpenter ant colonies, which can have up to 100,000 workers, are most often discovered nesting in buried or partially buried moist wood such as dead trees, rotting stumps and logs. However, nests can be found inside houses, telephone poles, or other wooden structures. Unfortunately porch pillars, roofs, windowsills, and other wood in contact with soil can be common nesting places for ant colonies. Workers stay on well-marked trails yet manage to maintain contact between the colonies as they travel to find food. Carpenter ants establish a parent colony, but then branch off satellite colonies that may be in the same structure.
Diet
Carpenter ants dine on a wide variety of foods and will forage for water and any food left out inside a house. Although their natural food sources are other insects, plant juices and the honeydew produced by aphids and other insects, they will eat almost any other food items.
Geographical Territory
Carpenter ants live throughout the United States. The black carpenter ant is common in the east; the western carpenter ant in the west.
Damage
Carpenter ants damage wood by excavating and building galleries and tunnels for their nests. The damage you may to wood structures can be variable. Obviously, the longer a colony is present in a structure, the greater the damage can be done. If structural wood is weakened due to large nests (or numerous nests), carpenter ant damage can be severe.
Control
The most successful way to control carpenter ants is to search and destroy their nests. This can be quite difficult if colonies are deep within a wooden structure. Carpenter ants tend to follow distinct scent trails between the satellite colonies and the original nest. Carpenter ants also rely on these scent trails to bring their nest mates to food. Carefully and patiently watching the behavior and trails of the ants can lead homeowners to discovering the carpenter ants’ nests. It is important to keep bushes and trees trimmed and away from touching the house when eliminating Carpenter ants.
Best products to control Carpenter Ants:
Maxforce Carpenter Ant Gel
Advance Select 375A Ant Bait
Victor Glue Traps
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