Recognizing the signs of a carpenter ant invasion in time is fundamental for getting rid of these pesky insects. The most common indications of carpenter ants include seeing enormous black or winged ants, trails, or wood shavings appear in corners or near the windows and door.
However, as you’ll learn from this article, there are lot more cues that can give it away if you have a carpenter ant problem. Read on to find out what signs to pay attention to and what to do when you notice them.
Common Signs of Carpenter Ant Infestation
A carpenter ants burrow is often found outside in decaying wood, like tree stumps and outdoor buildings.
However, if the weather is unfavorable (or tempted by food and a warm and moist environment), carpenter ants will find their way inside the building, causing a major issue. Read on to learn about the signs of a carpenter ant infestation.
Larger Black Ants Appear
The most conclusive evidence of a carpenter ant infestation is seeing large black ants appear inside your property. Carpenters ants are relatively easy to notice because they’re much larger than other ants. Worker ants can reach 0.5 inches in length, whereas their queen can be even double that size.
These are usually worker ants foraging for food and appear a few at once. They’ll come out looking for food if the weather is cold outside and they can’t find any plants to feed on, which is how they usually survive.
Another reason you might see a carpenter ant or two lurking around is if you have a habit of leaving out food, dirty dishes, or not cleaning up after eating. Carpenter ants love moist wood, so if you have leak issues or leave wet clothes around, you can see them appear in these places.
Large Winged Ants
As the carpenter ant colony grows, young members that reach the reproductive stage will come out to find a mate, reproduce and form new colonies.
These carpenter ants have wings, which help them move faster. If you see enormous winged ants suddenly appear inside your property, these have probably come from a nearby colony.
Ant Trails
If the carpenter ants find a readily available food source inside, you’ll see a lot more of them. You’ll see trails of the worker ants carrying food.
Carpenter ants can travel extremely long distances. They can carry a substantial amount of food with them into their nests, where there could be hundreds or thousands of them waiting for their meal.
Faint Rustling Noises
Sometimes, the only signs of a carpenter ant infestation are faint rustling noises inside wooden objects or wall voids. Carpenter ants’ burrows can be very deep in hollow spaces. If you listen closely, you’ll be able to hear them move around and dig deeper.
Keep in mind that these noises can also be a sign of other insects, such as termites, which can do more significant damage. Make sure to investigate the source of the sounds as soon as you hear them.
Even if you don’t see any carpenter ants or other insects lurking around, there could be thousands of them in their nests and satellite colonies.
Wood Shavings
It’s a common misconception that carpenter ants eat wood. They eat plants and sweet food made from plants. However, that doesn’t mean that they won’t leave wood shavings lying around. Carpenter ants aren’t known for being one of the most devastating wood-destroying pests for no reason.
As they move through moist wood, creating tunnels and making nests, they’ll leave plenty of sawdust-like wood particles after themselves. However, if they’re inside or behind furniture or walls, you’ll only see this sign after you start inspecting for damaged wood.
Following the trail of sawdust shavings, you’ll discover holes the carpenter ants left behind as they dug through the wood. Carpenter ant damage is recognizable for the smooth edges, unlike the rough-looking openings termites leave behind.
See Carpenter Ant Frass: What Does It Look Like?
Ant Droppings
Whether they feed inside or outside, carpenter ants will spend a significant amount of time inside the property where they’ve built a nest.
And as they travel back and forth between the nest and food source, they’ll leave droppings. These look like tiny pieces of wood shavings combined with fecal matter and have a unique smell.
Shed Wings
Flying ants appear for less than an hour before they reproduce. If you aren’t inside your home around this time, you’ll probably miss them.
However, after their reproductive stage is finished and before they establish satellite colonies, they’ll shed their wings. They’ll leave their wings on furniture, window sills, vents, baseboards, and other areas close to their new nests.
What To Do When Carpenter Ants Appear
Never ignore the signs of a carpenter’s ant infestation inside your property (or even outside because carpenter ants can easily find their way into any space). Failing to address the warning signs of carpenter ant infestations can lead to many issues.
Carpenter ant damage can have devastating consequences, including damaging the structural integrity of your walls and foundation. These are insects that are constantly active and have a fast reproduction cycle. A small carpenter ant nest can soon turn into a large infestation.
If you notice carpenter ant warning signs, inspect your property for any rotten, moist, or moldy wood that can attract the carpenter ants. Examine any hollow doors, storage spaces, and even door jams.
If you uncover one carpenter ant nest, keep looking, as there could be satellite nests housing thousands of these insects. If necessary, get help from a professional pest control company to resolve the carpenter ant infestation.
It’s crucial to take the necessary steps to eliminate them, even if you’ve discovered only a few carpenter ants lurking around.
Ensuring that you don’t leave food, dirty dishes, or wet clothes lying around can go a long way toward keeping carpenter ants away. Keep your food in airtight containers to eliminate the temptation.
Conclusion
Seeing carpenter ants crawling around looking for food is a dead giveaway of them invading your property. If you find sawdust or wood shavings accompanied by a faint rustling noise coming from the same direction, you’ll have even more clues that they have nests nearby.
If you notice any of these warning signs, take immediate action to eliminate carpenter ants. This often includes thoroughly inspecting all wooden areas, crawl spaces, and other hidden crevices. Otherwise, they can do extensive damage to your property.
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