I think it’s carpenter ants, but could it be termites?
by paco on Sunday, February 5th, 2012 | 7 Comments
I’m almost positive that it is carpenter ants because we have kind of been having ant infestations for years and we see them around even though we spray. But there are piles of would dust in this one spot in our basement and in certain places on the outside of our house. Is this a common thing for carpenter ants to do? Are termites the same way? Is there much of a difference between the two?
Will carpenter ants do as much damage as termites do if this doesn’t get taken care of?
Please answer as many questions as you can.
Below is a bit of what you will find on the site linked below. You have an infestation of one or the other and you absolutely must call a professional to evaluate the extent of the damage and take care of it immediately. Make sure you choose a professional who is certified and insured. Save your money, hopefully you only have a small infestation of either termites or ants. You need to act now before there is more damage. Both ants and termites enjoy moist environment. Good luck and I hope it isn’t too bad.
CARPENTER ANTS:
Carpenter ants are black or brown and measure up to 1″ in length. They are often confused with termites. Unlike termites they have pinched waists and elbowed antennae. Termites have straight bodies and antennae. As with termites, there is a winged version too.
Carpenter ants can do significant structural damage, but are more a nuisance than a structural problem.
Investigation:
There are several ways to recognize a carpenter ant infestation:
Swarmers: Winged form of the carpenter ant in a great number
Sawdust: If you see sawdust(frass) raining from your ceiling or from any indoor cracks.
If you see more than 10 ants a day in any room other than the kitchen.
If you see ants in your home and the ground outside is frozen.
Crunching Noise: If you hear munching, rustling or crunching noise coming from within a window sill, wall or ceiling
Heres how ya tell. Look at the insects… how many body segments do you see?
if you see three they are ants, if you see 2 a small head and a large single
thorax they are termites. They have actually told you who they are already.
You witnessed wood dust piles externally to the wood and outside where
they can be seen. termites are nocturnal they don’t like light that is why
they produce the little cellulose and mud tunnel trails. Only time they can
tolerate light is when they swarm to mate. At this time they turn a honey
colored dark brown color until they return to lay their eggs under ground
and die and are consumed by the colony ala carte.
Piper, here’s a description of carpenter ants, according to a handyman site that devotes a section to this:
Carpenter ants are relatively big insects compared to other ants, ranging from 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch in length. They generally have segmented bodies with elbow-bent antennas and are primarily colored brown to black and others colored yellow to red. In fact, the carpenter ants’ respective color appearance vary upon location in the United States: Primarily, carpenter ants are black in color, with some bearing red appendages; Florida carpenter ants are yellow, brown, red to black in color.
The link below also includes information on the ants’ diet (what to make sure you don’t have around for them to find and eat), habits, control treatments and even prevention suggestions:
Hope this helps!
.
Source(s):
The Internet. Just whatever is available online and what I have on my mind, including the inclusion of relevant sites, like the one cited that came about from my efforts, which is intended to be useful. Helping people get the relevant info they want is great.
Carpenter ants don’t tend to burrow holes as much as take over holes made by other bugs and build on them. check the pile if the make up of it is dry and almost perfectly round with some darker specks, you are looking at termite waste.termites will cause extreme amounts of damage if left untreated. I would suggest having a termite inspection done, they aren’t usually too much and of course you’ll get a sales speech. But they would be able to tell you what it was and a definite treatment plan…..which could be costly.
When you say ‘piles of dust’, that makes it sound more like drywood termites. They can’t be safely ignored, hire a competent timber pest inspector.
Ant attack is more limited (unless your house is rotting).
Termites dump stuff that looks like mixed light pepper and is very even in size. Ants dump trash which is irregular and even has some dead ants in it.
You can HEAR carpenter ants chewing. Termites are silent.
Yes.
Yes.
No difference. Damage is damage.
From what i’ve heard fro exterminators, carpenter ants are not as bad as termites…termites are much harder to get rid of and can destroy the house….carpenter ants only destroy sections in order to make there nest,, they dont consume wood like termites.
termites fly in swarms and have a narrower body , carpenter ants are bulkier