With Carpenter Ants the first question I am always asked as a professional pest control provider is, do they live in my house? With up to 15% of the nest responsible for gathering food for the colony, seeing an ant here and there is pretty normal, especially if you live in a heavy forested area like I do in upstate New York. The question is how often do you see them and where? I have lived in a home with a active carpenter ant nest twice sense I became a exterminator. once in a second floor apartment and there was no question that there was a problem. I saw ants every day and every where, but its not always that easy. Ants sometimes nest in the your home usually around a chimney or window and feed primarily outdoors making there presence in the home less noticeable.
One of the easiest signs to recognize is the frass (think saw dust) created as they excavate the wood used to build your home, building there home called galleries for there eggs and lava to develop in. When frass is present its usually time to call in a pest control provider. It indicates the presents of a nest but not always it's exact location. Most nest are found in areas with a higher than normal level of moisture in the wood. Doors,Windows (especially bay windows), sliding doors, basements and attics are just a few of the places carpenter ant nest can be found inside the home.
Another clue to the Carpenter Ant puzzle is the ants them self. There shape and size can tell you a lot about the nest. If you see the Carpenter ants in your home every day and they seem to be different sizes the chances are you have a nest at-least 2 years old. if you find ants with wings (called Swarmers or Alates) along with the workers your nest is at least 3 to 4 years old. These both indicate that the nest is likely in the home.
Unfortunately for home owners the nest within the house is not usually the parent colony but whats called a satellite colony consisting of mostly workers created to help support the larger parent nest located up to 750 feet from the home. The development of a satellite colony usually indicated a water leak or a drainage problem. DIY treatments for a carpenter Ant nest are usually ineffective due to the availability of non-repellent pest control products and bait acceptance by the ants them selves. The greatest challenge is the duration necessary to eliminate carpenter ants form your home. Even with an effective treatment strategy you will not see the the ants foraging after a month or so, the need to continue the treatments is necessary and can take up to a year to fully eliminate the nest.
I hope this helps and happy hunting f rom your friends at Simply Green Pest Solutions
Doug Wester
Simply Green Pest Solutions
https://www.simplygreenpestsolutions.com/
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