How To Tell If You Have Carpenter Ants

How To Tell If You Have Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants are considered to be wood destroying insects by the entomology community because of the large amount of damage they can cause. If you think you might have carpenter ants, you will want to know how to tell if you have carpenter ants so that damage like this doesn’t happen to your property (or worse, your child).

These are some common signs of carpenter ant infestations. Not every species of carpenter ant leaves the same type of evidence so its important to know which kind you’re dealing with.

How To Tell If You Have Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants are a type of ant that can cause damage to your home and property. They can also be difficult to identify, and it’s important to know what to look for if you think that you have them.

Carpenter ants are usually black or dark brown in color, but they may be red or orange if they are carrying food. They have six legs, two antennae and two jaws that are used for biting and chewing wood.

The best way to tell if you have carpenter ants is by looking at their behavior. Carpenter ants will leave trails on smooth surfaces such as wood or concrete, but other types of ants will not do this. If you see small piles of sawdust around your home or yard, then it is likely that there are carpenter ants nearby.

Ants are brownish-black in color and have a smooth, oval-shaped body. They are about 1/8 to 3/16 inches long (1 to 5 millimeters) and their antennae are longer than their bodies.

You can tell if you have carpenter ants by observing the damage they cause to your home or property. Carpenter ants typically enter structures through cracks and crevices in the foundation, attic, or walls. Once inside, they nest in softwood (decaying wood) such as under siding, decking, window trim, fascia boards and roof shingles. The ants tunnel through the wood searching for food sources such as sweets and plants juices from leaves that may be growing nearby in the soil around your home.

How To Tell If You Have Carpenter Ants

Wood is a versatile material. When introduced to fire, it can be used to keep people warm. When processed using the right machinery, it can be turned into paper for notebooks, books, and journals. It can even be used by carpenter ants to build a cozy home. As nice as this can sound, it can become a nightmare if the wood they choose happens to be inside your home. Want to know if your home is at risk? Here is a quick way you can tell if your Dallas home has a carpenter ant problem.

carpenter ant crawling on a home foundation

What Are Carpenter Ants?

One of the most obvious signs of a carpenter ant problem is seeing live carpenter ants around your home. How can you tell if the ants you are seeing are carpenter ants? For one, they will seem much larger than your typical home-invading ants. Carpenter ants are the largest native species of ant here in America, measuring at upwards of 18 mm long. That isn’t even counting the queens which can grow to 20 mm in length. As for color, a carpenter ant’s head, thorax, and abdomen are typically a combination of black and red. When doing day-to-day tasks around your home, keep your eye out for these pests wandering around where they don’t belong.

How Destructive Are Carpenter Ants?

Carpenter ants are not as destructive as their close cousins, termites. This does not, however, make the damage they do to homes any less frustrating for homeowners. A nest of carpenter ants can hollow out and seriously damage structural wood in a home and even potentially compromise its safety, given enough time. If not spotted early, this damage could cost you tens of thousands of dollars to fix.

How To Spot Carpenter Ants Inside Your Home

When it comes to wood-destroying pests, early identification is key. To do this, regularly inspect your home for the following signs.

  • Frass (fine sawdust) on floors or the ground next to walls or clung to them around tiny pin-sized holes
  • Galleries of tunnels running through structural wood around your home
  • Hollow-sounding wood
  • Soft crinkling coming from inside your walls, sometimes heard best at night

Along with these signs, we recommend regularly checking wood around your property such as trees, stumps, and woodpiles for signs of carpenter ants. Although this may not be a direct sign of carpenter ant problems in your home, it does show that your home could be at risk.

Do Carpenter Ants Eat Wood?

Unlike termites, carpenter ants do not eat the wood they tunnel through. This drives them to forage for sustenance outside the home they build for themselves. Often, this pushes them into homes where they can climb over counter tops, kitchen tables, and through pantries looking for a bite to eat. When found, carpenter ants can be followed which might lead you to where they may be causing damage to your home.

List Of How To Tell If You Have Carpenter Ants

TERRO T300B Liquid Ant Killer, 12 Bait Stations
Price : $11.92
Features :

  • Attracts & Kills – Kills common household ants including acrobat, crazy, ghost, little black, odorous house, pavement, and other sweet-eating ants
  • Kills the Ants You See & the Ones You Don’t – As worker ants discover the bait, they share it with the rest of the colony to eliminate them all
  • Works Fast – You should see a significant decrease in the number of ants visiting the bait stations within just a few days
  • Ready to Use – Place the bait stations, watch it attract ants, and eliminate the entire colony
  • Use Throughout Your Home – Place stations near areas where you’ve seen ant activity including along baseboards, in corners, on counters, and more

Additional Info :

Item Dimensions
Height 4.5 Inches
Width 6.6 Inches
Length 1.2 Inches
Weight 0.27 Pounds
TERRO T2502 Ready-to-Use Indoor Fruit Fly Trap with Built in Window - 2 Traps + 90 day Lure Supply
Price : $5.88
Features :

  • Works Fast – This fast-acting traps eliminate fruit fly infestations. You should notice a dramatic decrease in fruit fly populations within a few days
  • Long-Lasting Lure – The ready-to-use, non-staining lure attracts adult fruit flies. Each trap lasts up to 45 days, giving you up to 90 days of protection!
  • Discreet Design – The attractive, apple-shaped trap design will look at home in any kitchen. It also blends in with the fruit these pests love
  • Monitor Catches – Each fruit fly trap has a built-in window, allowing you to easily keep an eye on catches and lure levels
  • Locate Breeding Areas – These traps are most effective when placed near fruit fly breeding areas, including near fruit bowls, trash cans, on kitchen counters and sinks, and other locations where fruit is stored

Additional Info :

Item Dimensions
Height 8.38 Inches
Width 10.25 Inches
Length 12.25 Inches
Mighty Mint - 16oz Insect and Pest Control Peppermint Oil - Natural Spray for Spiders, Ants, and More - Non Toxic
Price : $18.98
Features :

  • Safe
  • Extra Concentrated for Long-Lasting Protection
  • Natural Ingredients Proven Effective in the Real World
  • Large 16oz Bottle
  • Powerful Essential Oil

Additional Info :

Item Dimensions
Weight 1 Pounds
BASF - 396153 - Advance Carpenter Ant Bait - 8oz, White
Price : $29.81
Features :

  • You MUST ALWAS RED THE LABEL BEFORE USIN THE PRDUCT! !
  • cmpany and distbutr of pest control produc. PesControl Pros can not or guaant the safety of the products listed on our website as this solely lies with the manufacturer of the product. Products sold on this site are sold throughout the world and it is impossible to know every licensing restriction or requirements, product registration, etc. for every country, state, county, city, province, etc.
  • ou MUST ALWAYS READ THE LABEL BEFORE USING THE PRODUCT! !
  • Package Weight: 0.068 kilograms

Additional Info :

Color white
Item Dimensions
Height 7 Inches
Width 4 Inches
Length 3.8 Inches
Weight 0.67 Pounds
TENS 7000 Digital TENS Unit with Accessories - TENS Unit Muscle Stimulator for Back Pain, General Pain Relief, Neck Pain, Muscle Pain
Price : $32.91
Features :

  • NEED PRESCRIPTION STRENGTH PAIN RELIEF? A TENS unit muscle stimulator and electric massager that provides pain relief, acts as a muscle massager or shoulder massager, provides carpal tunnel relief, and acts as a muscle relaxer(great for muscle recovery)
  • OVER 1M TENS 7000 DEVICES SOLD: A consumer over the counter favorite back pain relief device and a leader in physical therapy equipment for providing immediate and lasting drug-free muscle pain relief from back pain, neck pain, tennis elbow, and bursitis
  • A LEADER SINCE 2008: A 10+ year favorite TENS device among medical professionals for delivering drug-free back pain relief as well as treating common ailments like neck pain, carpal tunnel relief, arthritis, shoulder, knee, elbow, leg and foot pain
  • GET IMMEDIATE PAIN RELIEF: TENS machine comes with multiple TENS therapy modes that will provide instant muscle pain relief. An electrotherapy machine with everything needed for TENS therapy, a class leader in electric massagers for muscles. The pulse amplitude, or intensity level, is adjustable from 0-100mA in 10mA increments, which is controlled by the respective knobs located at the top of the device, for both channels
  • DUAL CHANNEL TENS UNIT: The TENS 7000 TENS unit provides TENS therapy and is a muscle stimulator, nerve stimulator, and electric massager with independent dual channels that control four(4) TENS unit pads (electrodes) for targeted pain relief
  • NOTE: Kindly refer User Manual and Guide before use. The pulse amplitude, or intensity level, is adjustable from 0-100mA in 10mA increments, which is controlled by the respective knobs located at the top of the device, for both channels. Use electrode in pairs, when used with 1 electrode, the device will not work. Treatment is timed with the device, and the device will automatically shut off after a certain time period within setup.

Additional Info :

Color Black
Item Dimensions
Height 7.75 Inches
Width 2 Inches
Length 8.75 Inches
Weight 1.15 Pounds
Release Date 2017-10-05T00:00:01Z

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