Carpenter Ant Damage

First of all, let's dispel a common misunderstanding: Carpenter ants do not eat wood. Unlike termites, carpenter ants are incapable of digesting cellulose. But carpenter ants do damage wood, and if left untreated, that damage can be quite substantial.

	What carpenter ants do is excavate wood to lay eggs, rear young, and establish their colonies. This is why carpenter ant damage is characterized by very smooth galleries that appear almost sandpapered in appearance. Unlike termites, who live in the soil and munch on wood for food, carpenter ants live in the wood and raise their young there; so keeping the galleries clean and smoothly finished is just part of good housekeeping for them. This is one way we distinguish between carpenter ant and termite infestations.
	Carpenter ant galleries often have "windows" through which the ants travel into and and out of the galleries. They also use these windows to expel "frass," which is a mixture of fine sawdust, bodily wastes, and other debris. The presence of this frass on surfaces immediately under infested wooden members is another clue that you have a problem. Each specie of wood-destroying insects has its own characteristic frass, and professional exterminators can tell from the frass what type of insect problem a building has.
	Over time, carpenter ants can cause serious damage that can significantly compromise a building's structural integrity. The photo to the left shows extensive damage to a house's sill plate (the wooden member that sits upon the foundation, and upon which the the rest of the house rests). Repairs to correct such damage can easily cost many thousands of dollars and days or weeks of inconvenience to the people living in the home: all of which could have been prevented by early detection and treatment by a trained exterminator.

 

Choosing the Right Exterminator

Economy Pest Control has the skill and experience to solve any pest control problem. To learn more about how wel can help you solve your carpenter ant problem, please contact us or call 800-972-7378. Economy Pest Control serves the greater Boston metropolitan area.