CARPENTER ANTS

Identification, Facts, & Control

Latin Name

Camponotus spp.

Appearance

Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)] Large up to 3/4" most being about 1/4" can be all black or brown with red.


Carpenter Ant - Are the largest of the ants. The reproductives can reach 3/4"; but most of the workers are 1/4" and larger. Are primarily considered a Branch 3 (wood destroying organism) pest because it nests in wood, often the wood of a human dwelling unit. It does not eat the wood, but with its mandibles it hollows out its smooth large galleries in the wood, leaving little piles of wood fragments that look almost exactly like sawdust. The workers are polymorphic. Carpenter ants are commonly found outdoors in fallen trees, rotten logs, tree stumps and other wooden structures from which they come into buildings. They forage at night and, if outside, readily enter a home in search of food. Carpenter ants are nocturnal and enjoy sweets more than fats. They don't sting, but have a painful bite and have been known to attack people. One of the most common ways they enter a home is either via an open window or on a tree limb that is touching the household. They will travel up to 100 yards to search for food from their nest.

Treatment for Carpenter Ants:
  • Should include both outdoor and indoor inspections.
  • If the nest is found, treatment is usually easy with either a dust or a spray.
  • Extreme infestations should be treated by fumigation by covering the house and introducing a gas like methyl bromide.
  • Once treatment for carpenter ants is completed, it should be highly recommended that any overhanging tree limbs close to the residence be treated to prevent a re-infestation.

Click on a species of ants below to learn further information.