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Carpenter Ant Facts Your Customers Might Not Know
• They are very tidy ants that will
remove old food and dead ants from
their nests.
• While they work, they collect resin to
disinfect their nests.
• Carpenter Ants don’t eat wood,
instead, they truck it out of the nest
and leave it in piles on the ground.
They chew through wood to create
tunnels and nests.
• They like any kind of wood, especially
wet or rotten wood.
Carpenter ants have been known to
kill and eat termites! But they are no • Though rare, carpenter ant bites can be
substitute for expert termite control quite painful.
methods! • Carpenter ants have been known to
kill and eat termites! But they are no
• Unlike termites, carpenter ants substitute for expert termite control
generally take years to cause methods.
significant damage. • You can hear a heavy carpenter ant
infestation. As ants move within walls,
• A carpenter ant infestation within a
building usually means that there is a brushing against the tunnel interiors, a
moisture problem. soft rustling sound can be heard from
within the house. That is the sound of
• Most carpenter ant nests are found structural damage.
in decaying wood in areas such as
windows, chimneys, sinks, doorframes • 4 Signs you have Carpenter Ants
or bath traps and in hollow spaces such 1. Wood damage, especially on moist
as wall voids. wood
• They are particularly fond of aphids 2. Ants searching and gathering food,
and their honeydew. If you see especially at night
carpenter ants coming into your home, 3. Rustling, clicking sounds on the
don’t clean things up and think that walls
your problem will simply go away.
4. Visible wood shavings near wall
• These hard-working ants can lift up to crevices, moldings, and sidings
seven times their own weight with their
teeth. If you notice any of these signs, call
your local pest control company.
IPMA Connection • 2nd Quarter, 2020 Page 11
