top of page

Carpenter Ants are the largest ants on the continent. Some species are black, others are reddish brown. Short hairs form rings around their abdomen and clusters on the head and thorax. Their huge jaws are adept at shaving timber, eating other insects, and drinking plant juices. They are not poisonous and do not have stingers, but the bite of a Carpenter Ant can still hurt thanks to its large mouth parts. Carpenter Ants are also able to spray formic acid from the tip of the abdomen, which may irritate skin and eyes. The acid is a defensive chemical used to deter predators from eating them.

Carpenter Ants tunnel through dead or decaying wood to build colonies. They do not eat wood, they just live in it. Because wood is used to build almost every building, occasionally the ants move into homes, offices and other buildings. Construction of an ant colony begins with boring through weak wood, but they can also chew through healthy, living tree roots if more space is needed. A colony has one queen, many workers, and some scouts. In order to prevent re-population of a colony in buildings, the egg-laying queen needs to be killed, not just the workers. Professional exterminators are helpful in eliminating ant presence in human dwellings.

The diet of this ant is varied. It eats other insects, plant juices, and the liquid 'honeydew' secreted from the bottoms of aphids. (Ants shepherd aphids on plants in order to collect this sweet serum.) In hot summer months, Carpenter Ants are more active at night. An old, established colony will eventually produce long-winged males and queens called alates. The winged ants fly out of the colony to mate, creating new or satellite colonies. Swarms of alates are usually seen in the spring. This is the only time ants will develop wings and they only do it for this purpose.

ant services

carpenter, pavement, ODOROUS, HOUSE ants

​

  1. inspect and locate the colony

  2. determine if colony is in the walls or coming inside from the exterior.

  3. treat with non-repellents liquids exterior.

  4. protein and sweet baits used in rotation interior.

  5. granular baits use INTERIOR/exterior.

  6. if location of nest is available dusts are used for immediate results.

  7. 30 day retreat warranty.

The colonies of Pavement Ants are usually seen on sidewalks, or driveways, on concrete or asphalt. Stepping on one results in many ants crawling up the shoe and leg where they can potentially bite. They are not poisonous, but their bites pinch. Their presence is enough to cause people to walk around them and not through them.

Scouts for a colony constantly search for food and other resources. Red Pavement Ants are often first to find dropped food items and, in little time, summon the clan, completely covering the food item as they eat it and break it down, taking bits away. The Red Pavement Ant is a member of the Formicidae family and have formic acid in their bodies, making them taste unpleasant. Large colonies are built with at least one queen ant that simply lays eggs for a living. This allows for rapid reproduction within the colony. Some males and females are winged and are called 'alates' and mate in flight. These mating swarms are sometimes mistaken for swarms of mating termites, a different subterranean insect. Both genders lose their wings after mating; males die and females land and begin a new colony. Eggs are laid and cared for and kept underground until they hatch.

Though ants are typically associated with a fondness for sweets, they consume any food. Because of this, they can become household pests. If a few scouts find food resources inside a building or home, they will infest the area. Their small size and great number make it difficult to control, and severe infestations are best treated by a professional exterminator. Preventative measures, such as sealing cracks in the foundation and removing wood debris from the sides of homes or buildings, and spraying a perimeter of insecticide outside the building may help avoid infiltration. Keeping food contained reduces the likelihood that scouts will find anything worth returning for. Preventing single scouts from returning to the colony with information and directions also helps.

bottom of page