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Solving ant problems in King and Snohomish Counties
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Carpenter Ants |
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| We get rid of carpenter ants with a fast and effective treatment plan that is tailored to meet your needs for safety and effectiveness. We give free on-site estimates and helpful info over the phone - call us today! | ||
Carpenter ant facts Carpenter ants do not eat wood, but they do tear wood apart to nest in it. Carpenter ants are considered wood destroying insects by state law. Carpenter ants should not be ignored - but they do not do the same type of damage you would get from the dreaded subterranean termite. Carpenter ants actually eat other insects and insect secretions. Carpenter ants come in many different sizes and colors but only one shape. Carpenter ants are extremely common in our area. Note the photo to the right and the descriptive text. Carpenter ants are often in homes for years before they are noticed. Queens will live up to 30 years and workers for 8. Main nest sites are rarely in homes but rather are part of a larger colony system. Carpenter ant main nest sites are ALWAYS located somewhere that never freezes or dries out - so usually you are talking about wood below ground level - such as dead wood in a living tree or a stump. Cedar trees are common main nest sites. Colonies can be quite large covering several neighborhoods with nests up to a couple hundred yards apart. Nests in homes are referred to as satellite nests. These nests may have up to a hundred thousand members each but are often smaller. It is possible for a home to have more than one satellite nest. |
Left: Carpenter ant bringing an insect back to the nest.
Right: It is not uncommon for carpenter ants to walk great distances upside down - especially up under the siding of your home. |
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Carpenter Ant Identification |
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While the process of carpenter ant identification does not have to be exact - it is important to be able to tell if your ants are a nuisance - or something worse. Not only are there lots of different kinds of ants - there are different types of carpenter ants! Different species will have some differences in habits, nest size, and coloring - the ones that nest in homes all damage wood. Our purpose in including carpenter ant identification information is just so you can tell them apart from other ants. Some species of carpenter ants are really quite small with the major workers, the largest worker ants in the colony, being only about a quarter inch long. Other, more common species can have major workers of over half an inch. There are some species of thatching ants that are very large and are sometimes mistaken for carpenter ants. However, if you look closely at thatching ants you will notice that every single ant you see is exactly the same size. As you can see from the photo to the right, carpenter ants come in different sizes. Regardless of the species of carpenter ant there will be large ones, small ones, and medium size ants - unless the nest has just started. In fact, if all your ants are exactly the same size, you probably don't have Carpenter ants. Check out our link to ant identification if you aren't sure if you have carpenter ants. In addition to the information included here on carpenter ant identification, your local county extension agency is a great resource for all types of insect identification |
Note the smoothly convex (rounded top) middle section (thorax) and the single node between the middle and last section (gaster).
The small one with wings are male reproductive Carpenter ants. Most reproductives lose their wings soon after swarming. |
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Carpenter Ant Damage |
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Carpenter ant damage often occurs in areas that are not visible to inspection such as inside walls or up under insulation. Carpenter ant damage usually consists of very small particles of wood that the ants pull off bit by bit with their plier shaped mandibles. It is sometimes referred to as 'frass' although true insect frass contains insect droppings. It is not uncommon for contractors or repairmen to discover carpenter ant damage while doing home repairs, especially when repairing bathrooms and decks - two moisture and rot sensitive areas of most homes. Carpenter ant damage can also occur in materials besides wood. In particular, the solid core insulation on flat roof homes and under faux stucco siding systems is a preferred nesting area for carpenter ants and carpenter ant damage in these areas can be severe. Carpenter ant damage is finer than typical construction saw dust with no large bits or chunks - frass is usually found in wall voids or insulation. |
This picture was taken in the hallway directly below the film posted in the next segment.) More about Carpenter ant damage.
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Carpenter Ant Treatment |
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Your Carpenter ant treatment should have two goals: |
This picture was taken in an attic. There were no visible ants prior to treatment but there was small bits of fine carpenter ant 'frass' noted in the insulation. A small amount of insulation was moved between the two 2X4's pictured. The ants erupted upward into the attic and downward out of the nest onto the floor of the home. |
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Goal #1: To get rid of the ants inside your home. |
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We customize every Carpenter ant treatment to reflect our customer's concerns. Do you want us to use the safest materials available? Do you want the ants gone as quickly as possible? We take the time to explain about treatment materials and treatment options. Our inspection, estimate, and consultation about your carpenter ant problem, your treatment options, and treatment materials is free - so call us today! Regardless of claims, over the counter carpenter ant treatment materials just cannot compete against professional grade materials. We have access to materials that are far safer and far more effective. Call us for a free, no obligation, inspection and carpenter ant treatment estimate |
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| Goal #2: To protect your home from re-infestation. | ||
Things that bring Carpenter ants back to homes again and again: Your home is within 300 yards of a main nest site or it would not have been infested to begin with. So they are in your neighborhood. Your home is made out of dead wood, and carpenter ants nest in dead wood. Carpenter ant main and satellite nest sites and their seasonal foraging areas. - are connected by invisible 'scent' trails that are reinforced every time the ants follow the trails. These trails are made of formic acid and may take years to fade away. Once the ants in your home are dead, and the application materials applied around the outside break down, what will keep them from marching right back to your home from the main nest site and re-infesting? We recommend a periodic reapplication around the outside to keep your ants away. It does not need to be monthly and doesn't need to be forever but we do recommend some type of follow-up program for most carpenter ant customers. |
This video shows Carpenter ant reaction to Diatomaceous Earth - an all natural insect dust. This nest was actually located in the wall below and only a small fraction of the nest was in the attic. Dusts work great in dry areas but must never be applied indoors in living areas. Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is natural and super low in toxicity. We always recommend the least toxic control materials that get the job done and we will always respect your feelings and choices about control materials. |
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Carpenter Ant Control |
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We specialize in carpenter ant control. We have been providing our highly referred service for your neighbors, co-workers and friends for over 25 years. Every customer has a unique discomfort level with carpenter ants. For some customers, carpenter ant control is all about not seeing any more live ants crawling all over the inside of their home. But just because you don't see them - doesn't mean they aren't there - inside your walls, in your attic, or inside your sub area. The queen lives decades and the individual ant workers for many years. As little as 3% of the ants in a carpenter ant satellite nest will forage - that is, walk around where they can be seen, going to and from an exterior food source (they do not eat wood-they nest in it). They can be seen, but only if you are looking in the right place at the right time. Carpenter ants can react to a treatment and you will often not see any activity afterward - because your home was treated. This does not mean they are all dead or gone. It may take several reapplication's over a period of months to achieve full carpenter ant control for your home. Not only can it take several follow-up treatments over a period of months to kill off all the ants in your home, but it is important to understand that the nest in your home is only a small part of a closely connected nest system. |
Carpenter ant control almost always involves follow-up treatments. Why? Main nest sites are rarely ever inside homes. Main nest sites occur in trees, stumps, and other areas that never dry out and never freeze. All the nests in a colony and all foraging sites are connected via 'scent' trails - that puts your home on their map - so follow-up treatments keep your home protected from re-infestation. Most of our customers on a regular periodic service will not see carpenter ants after the first 30 days - this does not mean the main nest site is gone, the scent trails that lead to their house are gone, or that their home is not targeted for re-infestation - it just means that the treatment we are providing around the outside of their home is maintaining carpenter ant control. |
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Carpenter Ant Prevention |
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There is actually a number of things that can be done to make a structure less attractive to carpenter ants. Almost all of these steps will also make any type of treatment program more successful with less use of pesticide. Please visit our page: Carpenter Ant Prevention to learn how to make your treatment more effective and possibly less expensive. |
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| You may have followed a link from one of the following pages to get here to our Carpenter Ant Main Page. These pages may have content which is reproduced here or may address other carpenter ant related issues: | ||
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Kill Carpenter Ants |
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Other Safeguard links.
Rodents |
Pest Bird Control Bees, Wasps, Yellow Jackets |
Bed Bugs How to Know if you have Bed Bugs |
Fabric Pests Organic/ Green Misc Pests Mole Control |
Spiders Food Pests |