If you’re looking to fix up a few things around the house this year, we recommend you stay far away from a particular kind of unlicensed, unbonded contractor: the carpenter ant. So named because of their affinity for building their homes in wood, this group of ants includes 43 subspecies, three of which are present in Arkansas. To better understand these tiny woodworkers, we’ll discuss their behavior, potential damage as a pest, and the treatment plans essential to protecting you and your home.
In appearance, carpenter ants look like most ants. If you’re seeing them in your home, you’ll likely be able to identify them based on their proximity to wood rather than any particular characteristic. The three species that thrive in our area are black, reddish, and amber in color. Since those are common colors for many species of ants, it’s better to go by size– most carpenter ants are far larger than their sugar or fire ant cousins. They can be anywhere from 1/4th to 5/8ths of an inch long, which means they’re easier to spot during the day. That’s the kicker, though, as carpenter ants are mainly nocturnal. They’re particularly active around the time of the full moon, when the night is brightest and it’s easier for them to forage. In the wild, carpenter ants forage mainly in the woods, making their homes in the dead wood of fallen trees. A mature group will send off queen ants to create new colonies. There, they fight with other budding groups for prime real estate. The trouble starts when they find our prime real estate and move in.
When it comes to structural damage, there are really only two names in town: carpenter ants and termites. Unlike termites, carpenter ants don’t eat wood. They chew it up and spit it out like ill-mannered guests at a dinner party. They aren’t interested in consuming the wood, but rather in living inside of it. Carpenter ants create “galleries”, long rows in the wood that serve as a nest for the colony. Though these structures are very rarely open and visible, the byproduct of their construction is easy to spot. Wherever they get to work, carpenter ants leave “frass” behind. Frass looks like wood shavings or sawdust, and often contains dead ants that didn’t survive the project. (Carpenter ants are not concerned with workplace safety, and there is no ant OSHA.) This construction debris is your best bet at identifying carpenter ants at work. Just like most lousy contractors, they’re fond of making a bad problem far worse. Because they adapted to rotting logs on the forest floor, carpenter ants favor wood that has been softened by fungus or water damage because it’s easier to chew up. To get rid of these little contractors, it takes a multi-pronged approach that includes ensuring there’s no other sources of structural damage in the area.
If you’ve got a carpenter ant issue in your home, a Natural State Technician will first check the area where you’re seeing activity. We must take care to be strategic about our treatment, as treating improperly can simply move the colony rather than eliminate them. We’ll take a look at structures in the area and all wood present on the property, particularly stray wood piles or areas where plumbing may be leaking. In order to tackle the population so that structural damage can be assessed, we’ll use spray products to limit their areas of activity and cut off their most commonly used trails. Our technicians will dust any openings to the galleries that can be accessed. This limits the options for worker ants to find new areas to forage and disrupts their environment, which may cause the colony to move on its own. Once the ants have been removed from the home, the only thing left to do is prevent them from coming back. Carpenter ant colonies based outside can usually be prevented from making their way into the home by a consistent barrier treatment, like our Home Defense service.
There’s no need to let these tiny woodworkers wreak havoc on your home. Though they don’t charge much for their labor, their projects can rack up a hefty repair bill. The good news is that our licensed team of professional pest technicians are capable of giving these two-bit contractors the boot. If you’ve got a colony of carpenter ants performing construction on your home, contact us at 479-777-0864