Carpenter Ants Habits Are Vital to Nature’s Balance

Carpenter ants habits are vital to the balance of nature because they nest in dead wood and aid in the process of decaying. Although the carpenter ants play this important role in the natural cycle, they can become pests to home and business owners when they make their home in the wood structures of buildings. Credits: A Guide to Carpenter Ants | Batzner Pest Management

Carpenter Ants Habits

Carpenter ants habits result in the creation of elaborate passageways in the wood for nesting and movement throughout the colony, connecting them to different food sources.

These ants are most active at night, starting just after sundown. They emerge about 15 minutes after sunset and leave the nest to forage for food. They feed mainly in the tree tops, consuming “honeydew” produced by aphids and scale insects. Honeydew is rich in sugar and can sustain the entire ant colony. Credits: Carpenter ants can do big damage if left unchecked | Columbia …

Carpenter ants forage for food around their nest, carry it back to the nest, and share the meal with the rest of the colony members. Credits: A Guide to Carpenter Ants | Batzner Pest Management

Carpenter Ants Habits Fun Facts

Super Ant!

Carpenter ants are the largest ants in North America with super-sized strength to match their super size. Dwarfing other ants, these wood-destroying ants can reach a length of 3/4 inch and lift up to seven times their own weight with their powerful jaws. In human terms that would be like lifting a large dairy cow with your teeth!

Mr. Clean

Carpenter ants habits include excellent hygiene, removing dead colony members and decaying food from the nest promptly. They also collect plant resins to chemically disinfect their nests. Cleanliness improves the insects’ chance for survival by removing pathogens and bacteria that could endanger the colony’s health.

Ant Farmers

Carpenter ants habits include loving their sweets and being particularly fond of a sweet dewy juice called honeydew that is produced by tiny plant aphids. To keep the colony well stocked with its favorite treat, carpenter ants tend, feed and protect “flocks” of aphids, regularly harvesting the sweet honeydew for the colony’s snacking enjoyment. Credits: Three Fun Facts about Carpenter Ants – Allison Pest Control

Carpenter Ants Habits Inside the Home

Inside the home, nests are often found in areas containing moisture-damaged wood. The damp wood and warm temperatures inside a home is also conducive to carpenter ant colony survival. Carpenter ants found in the home can often be traced back to nests outdoors in nearby trees. Scout for ant movement 15 to 20 minutes after sunset. Use a flashlight to search for the carpenter ants moving along their pathways. These pathways will lead you to their food source and the nest. Credits: Carpenter ants can do big damage if left unchecked | Columbia …

Identifying Carpenter Ants Habits in Creating an Infestation

The most common method to identify an infestation is the sighting of carpenter worker or winged ants in the home. Although worker ants (ants without wings) can be seen in a home without an infestation, the identification of winged ants often indicates a mature colony that is ready to reproduce and form new colonies. Additional signs of an infestation can include the location of sawdust-like wood debris (frass) from tunnels created by ants.  A rustling sound can also be heard as the ants build tunnels throughout the wood in a home. Credits: A Guide to Carpenter Ants | Batzner Pest Management

When Carpenter Ants Habits Result in Infestation: What to Do? 

Carpenter ants habits can cause structural damage to your home. They bore passageways in your home’s wood foundation, framing and siding. Moisture can enter into the wood and weaken it, eventually causing it to decay. It’s best to have carpenter ants professionally and safely exterminated.

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Carpenter Ant Colony Behavior

For carpenter ants to create colonies, they will need mature male and female winged reproductives to mate. They mate and swarm during early spring to summer. After the mating season or nuptial flight, the male will die, and the female will search for a suitable nest. Once the nest is found, the female ant will deposit 15 to 20 eggs that will soon become her first workers. These workers will be responsible in nourishing developing larvae and the queen. It may take 3 to 6 years for a colony to grow to around 3,000 to 5,000 ants.  Credits: Understanding Carpenter ants | Horizon Pest Control Blog 

Carpenter ants are the only polymorphic ant. This means a colony will consist of numerous different sizes of ants. All ants that one sees are adults.  Credits: Big black carpenter ants and little baby black carpenter ants

Carpenter Ant Colony Sets Up a Satellite Colony In Your Home!

A satellite carpenter ant colony may appear in your home. These colonies might find the luscious, damp wood of an old house and decide that it’s the perfect spot to wreck havoc. Carpenter ants typically show up in your home because they are searching for food and water. They might be in a dying tree just outside your door or across the yard at the old shed. They might even be underneath that soft spot on your porch steps, where wood rot is taking hold. The tricky part is finding where they have set up their satellite colony.

Locating the Carpenter Ant Colony Satellite

Sometimes you might get lucky and see exactly where they are going. Unfortunately, for most homeowners it isn’t that simple. Now is the time to get up underneath the house and take a look at things. Since the carpenter ants don’t actually eat the wood, they will leave plenty of shavings on the ground near the nest. 

Another interesting (and slightly creepy) way to discover them is by using a stethoscope. Don’t have one? An inverted drinking glass might do. When you press the stethoscope against the wall and listen, you just might hear the busy rustling of those carpenter ants working away on their nest. Credits: Getting Rid of Carpenter Ants – Old House Web

Preventing a Carpenter Ant Colony Satellite

Keep all firewood dry, off the ground and away from your house, bringing in only what you need when you actually need it. Replace any decaying wood and keep a close eye on the things that might cause a problem, such as clogged gutters or leaks. Seal up any holes around pipes that might be an entryway, and place a moisture barrier in your crawlspaces to help deter them even further. Credits: Getting Rid of Carpenter Ants – Old House Web

Carpenter Ant Colony Satellite Signs

You will know if your home has a carpenter ant colony satellite when:

• You see a high concentration of ants going in a particular moist area
• You hear an active colony, creating a dry rustling sound that is similar to the crinkling of cellophane.
• You see swarms of winged ants trying to get out of the house
• You see sawdust-like boring outside their galleries and little openings in woodwork

Credits: Understanding Carpenter ants | Horizon Pest Control Blog

It often takes many applications to get control of your house back, as carpenter ants are tenacious. And besides, they often have a parent colony somewhere nearby, where they get an endless supply of fresh ants heading for the satellite colony you are trying to destroy. If you can find that parent colony, get rid of it too. But these colonies can be huge, so you might have to call in a professional contractor to help eradicate it. Credits: Getting Rid of Carpenter Ants – Old House Web

Carpenter Ant Colony: What to Do If You Find One In Your Home?

Carpenter Ant Colony: What to Do If You Find One In Your Home?

Call ApolloX Pest Control

(888) 499-7378

Why call ApolloX?

• You don’t want to crawl under your home (where you may discover more than a carpenter ant colony!)
• You want to ensure carpenter ants are completely eliminated from your home.
• You want to have the master colony eliminated (the one that sent the satellite into your home in the first place, and will do it again)!
• You and your family want to be safe from toxic chemicals.

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