Carpenter Ant Nests are often hard to find but, once treated, all of the member of the colony will be disrupted and eventually die. Watch this video of a treated nest found in a rotten fence post. You will see the winged reproductives as well as adult ants carrying pupae.
Carpenter ants are one of the most common indoor insect pests. According to The University of Florida IFAS/Extension, carpenter ants will nest in wood structures and can be found nesting throughout a homeowner’s home in wooden support pillars, window frames, and in attics.
Homeowners often see these ants foraging inside their home at night. An experienced pest management professional, or a determined homeowner, can usually follow a trail of ants back to the ants’ nesting site and treat it. Carpenter ant complaints are numerous during the spring swarm season, usually between April and June, when winged reproductives are often found in homes, mainly along window ledges and near sliding glass doors.
Carpenter Ants nesting in a rotten fence post
Florida carpenter ants seek either existing voids in which to nest or excavate only soft materials such as rotten or pithy wood and Styrofoam. The main nests for the black carpenter ant are usually found outside, with satellite nests found indoors within voids or under insulation. Carpenter ants are primarily nocturnal in their foraging behavior. Carpenter ants do not sting but they do bite and can spray formic acid into the fresh wound if the ant is not removed quickly.
The ants form very loosely defined trails, or individual ants wander alone. These ants have a fondness for sweets and can be found in campgrounds near soda machines and other areas where sweets are readily accessible. Similarly, they are fond of sweet floral nectars and honeydews produced by sucking insects, especially aphids, scales and mealybugs.
It’s important to control ants with a treatment that works specfically for each type. Some ants respond to baiting, other are controlled with liquid insecticide. Many ants come into the home by way of pheromone trails. Locating that trail from outside, into the home, is often difficult to do and may require the help of a professional pest control company like Peninsular.
Learn how you can treat Carpenter Ants, Fire Ants and Ghost Ants effectively.
How to treat for all types of ants
Carpenter Ants respond best to liquid insecticide while fire ants are best controlled with a granular product. Ghost Ants are most often seen in the kitchen or bathroom area of the home. Locating their nest and baiting it requires patience. These ants follow a pheromone trail from outside into the home. Treating that trail is equally important.
Ants are nuisance pests around the home because they feed on and contaminate human foods, infest structures by nesting in wall voids and/or underneath kitchen sinks and other places, and build unsightly mounds in lawns and other landscapes. In some cases, ants are able to inflict painful bites or can have venomous stings. Ants do not attack or eat fabrics, leather or wood in houses. However, some species can establish nests in decaying wood, including wood in human structures.
Several species of ants are found in or around houses in Florida. In general, the most common ants can be grouped as house-infesting ants, yard-infesting ants, and carpenter ants. The most commonly encountered pest ants are pharaoh, white footed, Argentine, ghost, pyramid, carpenter, rover, native fire, imported fire, crazy, thief, Caribbean, acrobat, and big-headed ants.
