Carpenter Ants (Formica ligniperda)
I. Identification
- 1/4-1" in length
II. Nesting Habits
- Nest in moist, decaying wood
III. Feeding Habits
- Feeds on grease, sweets and other insects
IV. Controls
- Liquid or dust insecticides are applied directly to the galleries or sprayed where they can be transmitted into the nest
- Largest of home invading ants
- Cut galleries into the wood grain to move from section to section
- Around and under windows and doors, roof eaves, porches and decks. These are the areas most likely to be infested due to high moisture content
- Keep galleries extremely clean by removing dead ants and sawdust (frass) material as they move
- Hollowed areas of wood differ from termites in the carpenter ant galleries are not packed with mud
- Remove debris and restack firewood off the ground
- Remove and repair any rotting or decayed wood on or attached to the structure
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