Carpenter ants are common across North America and can seriously damage your home. Unlike termites, they don’t eat wood but dig through it to make their nests, which can weaken the structure over time. These ants usually start in damp or rotting wood but can spread to stronger wood, causing more damage that’s hard to see and fix.
If you think you have carpenter ants, it’s important to act fast. Our guide will help you find and remove them. However, since it’s hard to know how bad an infestation is, we often suggest calling a professional pest control company. We’ll also share our top picks for the best companies to handle carpenter ant problems.
Key Takeaways
- Because carpenter ants build nests in wood, winged carpenter ants are sometimes confused with termites. Learning how to identify carpenter ants is the first step to treating the problem.
- DIY carpenter ant removal is possible but difficult. Professional treatment is often the best choice, as licensed technicians have the equipment and know-how to access hidden nests while causing the least possible amount of structural damage to your home.
How Can You Identify Carpenter Ants?
There are multiple types of ant species, and they vary by color and size. However, the most common carpenter ants in North America are relatively large, from 1/4 inch up to 5/8 inch in length. They’re usually black or reddish, and some may have wings. These wings assist the ants in swarming to find a new location for a colony, which happens in the spring—May through August in the Eastern U.S. and February through June in the West.
Because carpenter ants build nests in wood, winged carpenter ants are sometimes confused with termites. However, you can easily tell these two pests apart with the naked eye. Carpenter ants have a narrow “waist,” or middle body segment (thorax), and their antennae have an angle to them, like an elbow. If these ants have wings, there are few veins, and the front pair of wings are longer than the rear pair.
Termites, on the other hand, have veiny wings, all four of which are the same size. They have straight antennae (no “elbow”), only have two body segments, and their midsections are thicker.
What Are Signs of Carpenter Ant Infestations?
Carpenter ants are often spotted before their nest is found. A few ants inside your home don’t always mean there’s a full-blown infestation—they may have wandered in from an outdoor colony. However, certain signs can indicate a larger problem:
- Rustling Sounds: If you put your ear to an infested area, you might hear faint rustling noises from ants moving inside the wood.
- Worker Ant Sightings: You’ll likely notice worker ants foraging for food before discovering the nest.
- Winged Swarms: If you see a group of winged carpenter ants (also called swarmers) in the spring, it’s a strong sign that a mature colony is nearby. These swarms only appear when a colony has been established for at least two years.
- Wood Damage: Look for small holes in wooden structures, as carpenter ants tunnel through wood to create their nests.
- Sawdust Piles (Frass): Unlike termites, carpenter ants don’t eat wood. Instead, they push it out of their tunnels, leaving behind small piles of coarse sawdust (frass) near entry points.
Quick Tip
- Carpenter ants most commonly nest in damp, decaying wood, so if you’re looking for a nest, look in areas near water leaks like in bathrooms, under sinks, or around windows and door frames. However, getting rid of other ants, like odorous house and pavement ants, may require targeting nests in walls, floors, or near foundations.
What Threats Do Carpenter Ants Pose Your Home?
Where you live does matter—for example, the black carpenter ant that lives in the Northern U.S. is more likely to make its home indoors than southern species. Fortunately, carpenter ants don’t pose a significant threat to your health, as they don’t spread disease, and while their bites can be painful, they’re not dangerous and they don’t bite often.
However, the threat that carpenter ants pose to the structure of your home can be significant. Since they hollow wood out to build their nests, if they get into the wall voids of your house and stay there undetected, they can cause catastrophic levels of damage.
The good news is that carpenter ants don’t do quite as much damage as termites, and they don’t work as quickly. Since they must leave the nest to find food, they’re also easier to spot. Nevertheless, once you spot the signs of a carpenter ant infestation, you need to act fast.
What Are DIY Methods to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants?
Because these insects live in hidden nests, it’s important that you don’t immediately start killing the first carpenter ants you see inside your home. The first step is to locate the nest so that you can destroy the colony.
- Finding the Nest – Follow ants to locate entry points, use bait to lure them out, and listen for rustling sounds in wood. Carpenter ants are nocturnal, so checking at night increases your chances of spotting them.
- Insecticides – Apply pyrethroid-based sprays or boric acid dust directly into nests, avoiding electrical areas. Drilling small holes in walls or wooden structures may help you reach hidden colonies.
- Baits – Use carpenter ant-specific poisoned bait along trails, but be patient as it takes weeks to work. If ants ignore one type of bait, try switching between sweet and protein-based options.
- Desiccants – Apply diatomaceous earth to dry out and kill ants, but avoid inhaling the fine dust. This method works best when applied directly to the nest or in crevices where ants travel.
- Natural Solutions – Avoid repellents until the colony is eliminated, as they may force ants deeper into your home. Focus on killing the colony first before using essential oils or deterrents to prevent future infestations.
When Should You Call a Professional for Carpenter Ant Removal?
Unfortunately, because carpenter ants can nest deep within the structure of your home, they’re difficult to remove on your own. If you haven’t had success with DIY methods, it’s better to call a professional exterminator sooner rather than later.
A pest control company has access to better equipment and pesticidal products than most homeowners, and licensed technicians know how to access hidden nests while causing the least possible amount of structural damage to your home.
Our Top Picks for Professional Pest Control
Most professional exterminators should be able to take on a common pest like carpenter ants, but here are our top picks:
Terminix
Terminix offers a premium ant plan for getting rid of carpenter ants, in which trained technicians will locate and treat the primary colony as well as any satellite colonies.
Orkin
With more than 400 locations across the country, Orkin is almost guaranteed to have a branch to serve you. If you purchase one of the company’s residential treatment plans, you’ll qualify for the Orkin Guarantee, a money-back offer that’s good for 30 days after treatment.
Aptive Environmental
Aptive Environmental, founded in 2015, offers customizable pest control services across 24 states, focusing on environmentally responsible solutions. The company provides a comprehensive Four-Seasons Protection Plan, which includes an initial inspection followed by quarterly treatments targeting a variety of common household pests. However, Aptive does not offer services for termites or bed bugs. While the company holds a B+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, it has faced lawsuits related to aggressive sales tactics and alleged misuse of customer data.
Frequently Asked Questions About Carpenter Ants
How do I prevent carpenter ants?
Whether you’ve just treated an infestation or you want to avoid one in the first place, here are some tips for carpenter ant control and prevention.
- Keep food in tightly sealed containers.
- Fix water leaks in or around your home to prevent wood damage that may offer a potential home to carpenter ants.
- Improve ventilation or use a dehumidifier in damp, enclosed areas of your home like crawl spaces or basements.
- Trim back any tree branches or other foliage that touches your siding or roof. Move rotting wood piles, mulch, or mounds of soil away from the sides of your home.
- Seal holes or cracks around vents, pipes, or wires with caulk.
- Hire a professional to apply a perimeter treatment around your home or yard.
What’s the difference between termite damage and carpenter ant damage?
Termites produce a mud-like material as waste from eating wood, which they’ll leave behind in their nests; carpenter ant colonies only leave behind wood shavings. Holes and tunnels created by termites have a rougher look, whereas those created by ants look smooth and polished. If you’re unsure, contact a pest control professional to perform an inspection.
What do carpenter ants eat?
Carpenter ants don’t eat wood—they prefer honeydew, a sugary liquid secreted by aphids. In fact, carpenter ants actively “farm” nearby aphids for this food. However, in a pinch, they can feed on nearly anything.
How much does pest control cost?
Pest control costs vary based on factors such as the type of pest, severity of infestation, treatment method, and property size. On average, homeowners can expect to pay between $300 and $500 for a one-time treatment.