How can I tell if I have carpenter ants? - Cottage Country Pest Control

Carpenter ants are a big problem for a lot of people right now, but sometimes people may not know if what they have are carpenter ants or just “regular” ants.

We’ve covered carpenter ants before and explained their characteristics, appearance, life cycle and treatment but today’s post will show you more than just explain. If you want to read the previous post on carpenter ants you do that here.

Carpenter ants. Notice their size as that is one of the big differences between this species and other ants.

Another ant species. As you can see this species is considerably smaller than the carpenter ants.

Some of the damage that carpenter ants can cause if left untreated long-term.

Another example of damage caused by carpenter ants if left untreated long-term.

This is frass. This is a major indicator of whether or not you have carpenter ants. When carpenter ants burrow into the wood, this is what remains.

A single carpenter ant. Again, notice the size of the ant. Carpenter ants are generally about .25 to 1 inch.

A carpenter ant queen. She will always be found in the main nest (a moist an decaying wood source) where she will lay the eggs. The main nest is almost always found outdoors. The main nest will almost always be located outside in places such as rotting trees/stumps or decaying landscape timbers.

A carpenter ant worker. The workers can be found both inside and outside in either the main nest or the satellite nest. Satellite nests are often located in wall voids, eaves, ceilings or under insulation found in attics or crawl spaces and can also be found in roof gutters and in downspouts. Generally, any nest found in a home will be a satellite nest.

If you know you have carpenter ants or suspect you do (or any type of pest), give Cottage Country Pest Control a call at 705-534-7863 or email us as we will be happy to answer any questions or book an appointment at your convenience.

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