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Hi, everyone! Welcome to Bug Talk. I’m
your host Ryan Haynes and I am here to
tell you what you need to know about
carpenter ants.
First, carpenter ants have some unique
physical characteristics. Carpenter ants
are generally larger than most
household ants. They typically range
from 6 to 12mm. They also have a
rounded thorax without spines.
Carpenter ants can lift up to 50 times
their body weight. This remarkable
strength comes from their large muscles
and rigid exoskeletons. Carpenter ants
can be black, reddish or even yellowish
in color. Carpenter colonies are
composed of thousands of workers,
winged reproductives and immature
ants.
Something that might surprise you to
know about carpenter ants is they are
very clean. They take the time to
remove wood shavings, food debris and
dead ants from their nests. This
cleanliness can leave evidence of their
presence. Homeowners may see piles
of coarse sawdust and dead ants along
baseboards.
Carpenter ants tend to forage for food
primarily at night. They prefer to eat
sweets, meat and even pet food. They
can travel up to 100 yards in search of
food which can make locating their nest
a challenge.
Carpenter ants are not known to pose
any health risks to humans. However, if
you receive a bite from a carpenter ant it
is going to hurt a lot! Their jaws and
mandibles are very large for their size
and unfortunately that means a powerful
bite.
The final thing you need to know about
carpenter ants is they are often
confused with termites. Since carpenter
ants can have wings and live in wood it
can be difficult for homeowners to
determine whether they are seeing
signs of carpenter ants or termites.
There are some key differences
between the two. First, carpenter ants
do not eat wood. Carpenter ants will
hollow out wood to build their nest
where termites will consume the glucose
in the wood as part of their diet.
Typically, carpenter ants will infest damp
or decaying wood. Carpenter ants can
have wings like termites, but they have
a three segmented body and a heart
shaped head. Another interesting fact
about carpenter ants is they will eat
termites! These are some of the
differences between carpenter ants and
termites.
Controlling carpenter ants involves
finding and eliminating their nests. Since
carpenter ants are foragers this can be
a challenge. If you think you might be
seeing signs of carpenter ants at your
home, be sure to give us a call. We can
come up with a treatment plan that is
right for you.
Thank you for joining us today.
Remember, if it crawls or fly’s we’re your
guys!