Carpenter Ants Door Frame

The back door of my house started to have saw dust fall from the frame and when i took a closer look i spotted several large black ants run into the crack between the molding and the wall of my house.

Carpenter ants door frame.

Carpenter ants can enter homes and businesses via wet or damaged wood but they will also enter by way of cracks around windows and doors creating paths through healthy wood if necessary. The amount of damage carpenter ants cause is usually far less in comparison to that of subterranean termites however if carpenter ant nests are left untreated and undisturbed the shear numbers of ants can be enormous and the resulting damage caused by mining of wood to increase the. I have large black wood ants nesting in my door frame. Carpenter ants can be considered wood destroying pests because of their ability to cause damage to wood.

Common places to find carpenter ant nests include hollow doors window sills roof areas and wall voids use insecticide. These are wood shavings that the carpenter ants kick out of their galleries after they have excavated dead insects and waste products from feeding. Once you locate the nest using an insecticide like raid can take. Carpenter ants tend to favor door or window frames or wood near water sources such as interior walls that house plumbing like bathrooms or kitchens.

Bugs that are nesting in wood are just as bad as bugs that eat wood. But in order to eradicate the infestation you have to make sure you re treating your property for the correct pest. However they do significant damage by turning solid wood planks into sawdust called frass. Unlike termites carpenter ants do not eat wood.

I know they re living in there and want them gone as quickly as possible. Termites and carpenter ants cause similar damage to damp dead wood. Since a satellite nest doesn t need to support the lifecycle carpenter ant satellite nests can be found in fairly dry locations compared to that of parent. Oftentimes you ll see piles of wood shavings near wood that s infested with either termites or carpenter ants.

The first step for preventing a recurrence of carpenter ants in your home is to seal all cracks or gaps in your home s exterior including utility pipes and other items that might penetrate the walls and seal any gaps around the electrical outlets in your home to keep carpenter ants from entering.