I. General Facts about Carpenter Ants

Getting rid of carpenter ants can be incredibly simple or incredibly difficult. An example of an incredibly simple carpenter ant problem is the infestation of a tree stump in the front yard. For an example of an incredibly difficult carpenter ant problem, here’s a hint: a hole in your pocket the size of Dakota…North and South.

The most likely type of carpenter ant you’ll be facing off with is the black carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus). They can be distinguished from all other carpenter ant species by the dull black color of the head and body, and by whitish or yellowish hairs on the abdomen.

The black carpenter ant body has three segments: the head, abdomen, and thorax. The antennae are elbowed, usually with 6-13 segments. These ants produce crackling sounds that can often be heard near a sizeable nest. A large colony can have thousands of individuals.

II. Carpenter Ants as Pests

The one reason, above all others, for getting rid of carpenter ants is to prevent further structural damage to your home. Carpenter ant colonies expand ever outward, producing what are called satellite colonies. These satellite colonies will eventually mature into hundreds of members and will seek to create more satellite colonies.

You can see the pattern; once carpenter ants have established themselves in a home, constant progression of damage and size of the colony are inevitable. Usually they have made their nest in wood that was already rotted and probably needed to be replaced anyway, but sometimes they will nest in perfectly dry and healthy wood.

Chances are you’ll have to make some serious structural improvements once the infestation is taken care of. Timber will have to be replaced. Most carpenter ant infestations, however, are smaller in number, generating only 20 or 30 swarmers during the spring and summer.

Sometimes the presence of swarmers (winged carpenter ants), which are often mistaken for termites, isn’t even indicative of an established colony in the home, but a colony found just outside of the home. Regardless of whether you see more than a few winged black ants in or around your home, steps should be taken to get rid of carpenter ants before they become a more serious problem.

III. Basic Carpenter Ant Control

* Eliminating carpenter ants from your home is simple enough if you can find out where the carpenter ants are coming from. If the colony is large enough, nesting carpenter ants will actually make a crinkling or crunching noise.

* Getting rid of carpenter ants on your property requires that you do an inspection outside; treat the outside of your home with a residual barrier insecticide like Knox Out, and clear brush away from the home. Kill any mature nest you may find (usually in rotting wood) by opening the nest and drenching it with boiling water or with a mixture of water and ant killer.

* Spray aerosol pesticides into the entrance of the nest and place sweet bait (boric acid or Terro) near the nest. This can be considered a primary step, if you think the colony isn’t very large. Usually twenty or so winged ants found in the house during the spring are indicative of an established, but small, colony.

Sweet bait and a simple aerosol spray may be able to take care of your ant problem, though ants in the nest have been known to survive for several months without feeding, and aerosol sprays may not make it far enough into the nest to guarantee complete ant extermination.

* Drill holes in the wall to penetrate the nest, and then dust and spray with ant killer. If you notice more than twenty winged ants in your home during the spring, then it’s possible that you have a larger colony set up somewhere in your home.

If you want to get rid of carpenter ants, the best way is to find their nest, drill holes into it, dust with boric acid or Knox Out (Diazinon), and then spray with an aerosol insecticide.

* If you can’t get rid of carpenter ants, you may want to call a professional pest control agency. If you’re a homeowner, you should schedule an initial inspection to make sure they can detect the location of the nest, a second inspection to treat the nest, and a third inspection within a month or during the following spring to ensure they have gotten rid of carpenter ants for good.

If you’re a renter, you should notify your landlord of the problem; explaining the danger to the structure of the apartment or home may influence more immediate action.

IV. Natural and Organic Carpenter Ant Control

* Proper lawn care is perhaps the surest natural way of controlling carpenter ant populations. To prevent a carpenter ant infestation, remove dead stumps from your yard; keep wood piles away from your home; clear brush, tree branches, and other foliage that are making contact with your home; keep your lawn trimmed; and make sure your home’s wooden structure doesn’t make contact with the dirt. Carpenter ants will travel upwards of 200 yards from the original nest; keep this in mind when deciding how much lawn you should tend to.

* Dusting with boric acid is a natural form of ant control. Boric acid is, for the most part, an innocuous substance for humans, but it shouldn’t be inhaled or ingested by the young or the infirm, and definitely not in mass quantities by any healthy individual.

Also, mixing 3 tablespoons of boric acid with 1 cup of warm water and ½ cup of sugar should make an appropriate solution that can either be put in a shallow dish for ants to get in or soaked up in cotton balls and set around the nest.

* White gravel, lined around a home, can be a natural form of carpenter ant control (and many other pests included). Carpenter ants prefer moist places, and white gravel’s dry texture and its positive effects on drainage around the home make it a natural barrier for carpenter ants and other pests that are attracted to dark, moist areas.

V. Extra Carpenter Ant Tidbits

* Carpenter Ant Bites

The black carpenter ant does not sting, but the larger workers will bite on contact, which can become further irritated by the injection of formic acid, which they produce. Thankfully, it’s only a pinch and no poisons or acids are injected. There’s no reason to treat a carpenter ant bite unless it breaks the skin; if that’s the case, then wash with soap and water, then apply an antibiotic and a bandage.

* Carpenter Ants and Termites

People often confuse carpenter ants with termites, but the reality is that carpenter ants will prey on termites. Although it wouldn’t be wise to introduce carpenter ants into your home as a form of biological control, you can be certain they are not teaming up to destroy you and your family. In fact, a termite infestation, like a twenty-four hour buffet, can be invitation enough for carpenter ants to take up residence in your home.

VI. Killing Carpenter Ants

Various kinds of pesticide measures are now used, including diatomaceous earth, granular chemicals, biologicals and soil poisoning. The latter is the least environmentally sound.

The granular chemicals exploit the insects’ fondness for sweets; they’re carried back to the nest, where the more slow-acting chemical will eventually be fed to the queen. Still, with the sheer number of carpenter ant infestations and the difficulty of getting rid of carpenter ants, it is relatively common to call in a professional to take care of your ant problem.

A good pest control professional will do a very thorough examination of your home. Having all family members present may help the agent pinpoint the location of the nest more easily, so be ready for questions about sightings and recent ant activity.

Once the nest is located, the pest control agent will drill holes and treat the surrounding wood, moving outward from the nest’s location, eventually finishing the job with a residual insecticide spray of the perimeter of your home. Problem solved – with no environment damage done on your part.