There are a wide variety of ants in the Midwest and none more destructive to the home than the carpenter ants.
Most people identify them as a large, mobile, and dark black ant capable of inflicting a rather painful bite. Actually, the ant can be rust colored or reddish brown, and contrary to popular thought, the ant does not ever bite you. The pain is delivered by pinching you with very sharp and very powerful mandibles connected to the mouth region. These weapons are used for carrying their eggs, moving debris, or unfortunately for most other insects, the bodies or body parts of other insects foolish enough to challenge the strength of ant mandibles. The homeowner will be more interested in the small piles of a substance commonly recognized as sawdust that may be found under baseboards or window frames, or even wooden supports in the basement and attic! The technical term for this saw-- dust is called Frass. This is the key for the homeowner to get busy on finding an exterminator or start killing these ants immediately! Listen carefully to this----- A carpenter ant infestation can and often does, inflicts more damage to the home than a colony of Termites!!!!
The primary reason for this is the homeowner will observe them around the house usually in the form of one or two foragers and fail to realize their wood destroying capabilities. There are no loners in the ant kingdom. They are an extremely social insect and their colonies can range in the thousands. While many problem ants can be seen walking around your property, the most bizarre and attention grabbing event is the "Swarm". Hundreds or even thousands of flying ants will suddenly appear in your yard or from under your house. This can be the earliest signs of a preexisting infestation or hopefully a new colony flyby. Either way, you now have a serious problem. This situation has now become critical for your immediate attention and treatment.
There are three types of flying ants. Actually, there are two with the other one being the termite. They look similar and it does take a trained eye to tell the difference in the three. That is until now. There are a few very distinct differences in the ants bodies compared to the termites. The ant has a 3 part segmented body with clear membraned wings. They will be either black, as the carpenter ant, or rust colored even reddish, as the ordinary flying ant. Now here is the catch and I have to admit, it can be substantial. Some carpenter ants are rust colored too but their size usually gets your attention very quickly. Carpenter ants in general are extremely large and aggressive. The termite body will be smaller and black also. Their bodies however, are one cylindrical sphere. There are no segments and their wings are a hazy, milky colored fixture. All three will leave thousands of wings on the ground if they are arriving. However, even a slight wind will blow them away and the insects will be busy burying themselves within a couple of hours. Two of the three species mean profound problems for the homeowner. The common flying reddish ant is not a wood destroying insect and can be killed easily with over the counter insecticides. Actually, for the frugal freelance ant killer, a strong dose of bleach and water will have you mounting little ant heads in the den in no time at all. Heavy water (bleach)will kill all three species if caught early after the swarm. If they get into the ground or trees however, you will certainly have to scrub the home remedies.
The homeowner should remember that while both the termite and the carpenter ant destroy wood, only one, the termite, consumes it. The ant shreds it while it looks for a place to colonize. When you start seeing small piles of frass in your home, it is time to call a professional. This is a timed priority because the ants can and will do tremendous damage if left unchecked. The treatment is radical and expensive. All of the walls must be drilled and treated. The attic space and basement are important because they are usually the point of entry. The attic becomes an entry due to overhanging tree limbs and the basement being below or ground level. I would advise against wood chips for cosmetic purposes. Even when treated the rain and time will erode the factory warranted material and in a couple of years, they will act as a ant magnet. The cost will average between 550.00 and 750.00.
