Carpenter Ants are the most common ant that infests homes in the Madison area. In Wisconsin carpenter ants cause more structural damage than termites. They cause damage to wood by excavating tunnels through it and not by eating it. Ants range in size from 6 to 10 mm and the queens may be 13 to 15mm long. They are easily identified by their large mandibles and gold colored hairs on their abdomen. The queens may have wings but usually loose them after mating. A first year colony may have up to 50 worker ants and a mature colony up to several thousand individuals. These ants will infest wood with high moisture content.

In the home they are often found in window sills, around door frames, in attics, around showers, tubs and toilets. Outside they are found in trees, stumps, landscape timbers, woodpiles and under wood mulch. Home owners will have difficulty eliminating these ants due to the products available to them. Using over the counter residual sprays will kill the foraging worker ants but will not kill the queen or the nest. Our service will destroy the nesting colonies inside and out and also address the environmental conditions conducive to their survival. We recommend our once-per-year Carpenter Ant Elimination and Prevention Service or our Home Protection Program.

 

Carpenter Ant Management – This educational resource explains how the biology and behavior of carpenter ants relate to control strategies when a homeowner is faced with this problem. UNL Extension in Lancaster County.

 

Ant Identification Resources