Carpenter ants are a pain. Although they don't bite people like fire ants or other ant infestations, they can cause bigger problems in the long term. They get into your house and nest in the wood frame, leaving behind trails of sawdust and possibly structural damage. This damage can cost big bucks to fix, so you need to get rid of carpenter ants if you suspect you have them. Killing carpenter ants can be tough since you have to find their nest, but luckily it isn't too hard to get rid of carpenter ants most of the time. A few tips will help you with carpenter ant identification and tell you how to kill carpenter ants.

The web is a great place to find solutions to your carpenter ant problem. There's lots of information on pest control, so you can read about people with similar problems. Maybe you can even share your story after you've solved your problem! Sometimes you can find good deals on insect sprays and other products for killing bugs. Your local exterminator is probably on the web, too.

Carpenter Ant Identification

Carpenter ants are large ants that live in soft wood. Although there are many species of these insects, the ones that get into houses are usually black in color and between a half inch and an inch in size. These are called (appropriately) Black carpenter ants, Camponotus pennsylvanicus. These ants like to nest in soft, damp wood, and that may mean the walls or support beams of your house.

Signs of carpenter ants include tunnels in wood and small shavings. The tunnels resemble large termite tunnels and can cause structural damage. You might not be able to see these tunnels, but often the ants leave behind small wood shavings from their tunneling that look like broken pencil shavings or sawdust. These wood particles are called frass, and they're the most common sign of carpenter ant infestation.

How To Kill Carpenter Ants

Killing carpenter ants means applying insecticide to the places they nest and frequent. First you must identify that you have a carpenter ant problem. Then you have to find the nest. Remember that these ants like moisture, so they prefer to nest in damp wood. This might help in finding their nest. Frass, or sawdust left behind by the ants' burrowing, is the biggest clue for finding the nest. Once you've hound the nest, you'll need to apply poison or bait. You might even have to drill holes to get access to the tunnels or introduce insecticide into the gaps between walls. If your problem is bad enough you might need professional help.

Killing carpenter ants means identifying the ants, finding their nest, and applying insecticide. With a little patience, you can get rid of carpenter ants without too much trouble.