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Carpenter Ants
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Carpenter Ants

Learn More About Carpenter Ants

One of the largest ant species in the United States, these critters can reach up to 13 mm in length. Winged, dark in color, and residing in moist, damaged woods, it's common that homeowners mistake carpenter ant swarms for termite colonies. Though they aren't likely to cause much damage to the exterior of your home, they are a major nuisance once they get indoors. Feeding on sweets and meats, they are likely to contaminate your food supply. To find out how to deal with carpenter ants, learn more about our pest control services.​

Pest Identification

Size

1/8 - 1/4 in.

Color

Reddish brown

Body Structure

Flat body with eight legs.

Characteristics

Female adults when fully gorged with host blood may produce as many as 500,000 eggs, laying them in secluded cracks and crevices. The female coats the eggs in a secretion to keep them from drying out, and then dies after completing this process, which may take as long as 15 days. When the eggs hatch, the larva go in search of food, gorging themselves on a host until molting, upon which they enter the nymph stage. Here again, nymphs will seek a new host, gorging themselves on blood until molting and emerging as an adult. In indoor/enclosed environments, young ticks will gorge on the same animal instead of finding new hosts. Furthermore, the brown dog tick is unique in that it can complete the entire life cycle indoors.

Habitat & Behavior

In the wild, brown dog ticks can be found residing on tall grasses or vegetation, where they wait to attach themselves to a passing mammalian host. While they will feed on animals such as rabbits or deer, they prefer dogs, hence the name. Generally, adult brown dog ticks will attach themselves just behind a pet’s ears or between its toes. Initially infestation may go undetected. It is often during the larval stage, when the undeveloped young disperse in search of food, that one will see thousands of offspring, crawling in and around a pet’s bedding area. Like its counterparts, the brown dog tick is also a vector pest, capable of transmitting disease, including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

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