Carpenter ants are a wood-destroying insect, which puts them in a different category from the nuisance ants most people call about. They do not eat wood the way termites do — they excavate it to nest in, and they prefer wood that is already damp or damaged. Licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture, TPCL #0841330.
Carpenter ants or termites?
This is the question we get asked most, and the two are confused constantly because both mean insects in your timber. The differences are visible once you know what to look for.
- Waist. Carpenter ants have a narrow, pinched waist. Termites are the same width the whole way along.
- Wings. On a swarming carpenter ant the front wings are longer than the back. A termite’s four wings are all the same length and drop off easily.
- Antennae. Carpenter ants have bent, elbowed antennae. Termites have straight ones.
- The debris. Carpenter ants push out coarse sawdust-like shavings, often with insect parts in it. Termites leave mud tubes and do not produce shavings.
If what you are finding is mud tubes rather than shavings, you are looking at termite control instead.
How we treat them
Carpenter ant work is about reaching the colony, not about coating the outside of the house. A perimeter spray on its own will kill the foragers you can see and leave the nest producing more.
- Locate the nest where we can. Following foraging trails, checking damp timber and listening at suspect voids. Finding it changes the treatment.
- Non-repellent liquid treatments. These matter: a repellent product scatters the colony and can split it into satellites, which makes the problem worse. A non-repellent is one the ants walk through without avoiding, and carry back with them.
- Baits the ants distribute themselves. Workers take bait back and share it through the colony, which reaches insects we will never see.
- Wall void injection where it is needed. Where a nest sits inside a void, we inject product directly rather than treating around it.
The combination is deliberate. Non-repellent liquids and baits both rely on the ants transporting the material for us, which is the only realistic way to reach a nest inside a structure.
Where they nest
Carpenter ants want moisture. In North Texas the usual sites are timber that has been wet at some point: around a leaking window or door frame, beneath a failed shower pan or a slow plumbing leak, in a damp crawl space, in fascia or soffit behind a blocked gutter, and in tree stumps or stacked firewood close to the house.
Because moisture is the draw, finding the water source is often the difference between clearing them and having them come back. If there is damp under the house, see crawl space moisture control.
We treat the ants, not the wood damage
This is worth being plain about. We deal with the infestation. We do not carry out repairs to damaged timber, and our pest licence does not cover construction work.
Where there is wood damage that needs putting right, we refer customers to our sister company, Rainy Day Restoration. They handle the restoration side. You are under no obligation to use them, and we will say so at the visit rather than presenting it as a package.
Carpenter Ant Questions
How do I know if it is carpenter ants and not termites?
Look at the waist and the debris. Carpenter ants have a pinched waist and push out coarse shavings; termites are uniformly wide and leave mud tubes. Keep a specimen if you can and show the technician rather than guessing from photographs.
Why not just spray the outside?
Because it kills the foragers and leaves the nest. Worse, a repellent product can scatter a colony into satellite nests and make it harder to clear. Non-repellent treatments and baits work because the ants carry them back.
Do you always find the nest?
Not always. We locate it where we can, and treatment is more direct when we do. Where the nest cannot be reached, baiting and non-repellent liquids are designed to get there without us finding it first.
Do you repair the damaged wood?
No. We treat the ants only. For repairs we refer you to our sister company, Rainy Day Restoration, and there is no obligation to use them.
Will they come back?
If the moisture that attracted them is still there, something will. Fixing the leak or the damp is the part that makes the treatment hold.
Think you have carpenter ants?
Call (214) 585-7145 or request a free estimate. If you have found shavings or a swarming ant, keep a sample for the technician.