RAP SHEET

Carpenter Ant

Camponotus spp.

high CASE #MWP-0006

Renovating your walls without a permit since the Carter administration.

How We Take Them Down

  1. Direct void injection of insecticide dust into infested galleries
  2. Perimeter bait application along foraging trails
  3. Locating and treating the parent colony, often outside in a tree or stump
  4. Moisture repair to eliminate conditions that attract and sustain colonies
  5. Removal or treatment of infested structural wood where feasible

Prevention Tips

  • Fix all roof leaks, plumbing leaks, and condensation problems promptly
  • Keep firewood stored off the ground and well away from the house
  • Trim tree branches that touch or overhang the roofline
  • Replace any water-damaged or soft wood in the structure before it becomes a welcome mat
  • Seal gaps around windows, doors, and utility penetrations

Fun Facts

Carpenter ants don't eat wood — they carve it. They're only after the architecture, not the lumber itself. Small comfort.

A mature carpenter ant colony can contain up to 10,000 workers. The queen can live 25 years and is not slowing down.

They perform trophallaxis — sharing food mouth-to-mouth throughout the colony. This is actually how baits work their way back to the queen.

You can hear a large infestation. Press your ear to an infested wall and listen for faint rustling. Then immediately call us.

Field Notes

Carpenter ants are the silent renovators of the pest world — methodically hollowing out the wood inside your walls, floors, and support beams without making any noise about it until the damage is done. Unlike termites, they don’t eat the wood; they excavate smooth, sandpaper-finish galleries to house their expanding colonies. The presence of carpenter ants almost always signals a moisture problem somewhere in the structure, which means an infestation is both a pest problem and a home maintenance warning at the same time. The first signs are often large black ants appearing indoors in spring, or small piles of frass — fine, sawdust-like debris — near baseboards or window frames.