The carpenter ant is the largest ant in the Bay Area. Workers are about 1/4 long. Queens can be up to 3/4 inch. This ant color varies from black to red and black.
Carpenter ants food sources consist of honeydew from aphids, other insects and plant juices but they will forage for water and food scraps within the house.
The colony starts with one fertile female. Nests are started in deteriorated wood which has been exposed to moisture. A colony does not produce young queens and males until it contains 2,000 or more workers. It may take a colony between three to six years to reach this stage.
Every year thereafter, the colony will produce winged queens and males to fly off to make new colonies.
Carpenter ants do not eat wood. They excavate the wood and pile it nearby. This is called frass. Within the frass you will find bug parts and other debris from the colony. They will primarily live in rotting logs and stumps. However, they will make nests in the roof, window sills and wood that is in contact with the soil. There will be one central nest and several satellite ones.
Because they are a large ant they can travel long distances between nests and food sources.
Carpenter ants rarely cause structural damage to buildings. They can cause significant damage, however, over a period of years because the colony is so long lived.
Carpenter ant colonies can be controlled with an exterior and interior treatment. Wherever the frass is found on the inside a treatment to these areas will kill the satellite colony. Treating the exterior will prevent others from entering.
