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Carpenter Ants It an Ant Or Termite? CARPENTER ANT... Ants are social insects, living in groups Cornell Cooperative Extension called nests or colonies. They undergo U r b a n I P M P r o g r a m OR TERMITE, OR ...? complete metamorphosis, developing into Information Sheet No. 601 egg, larva, pupa, then adult. Colony members can be separated into groups The black carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) is called "castes" by the roles that they play in Integrated Pest often the species that damages houses in the Northeast. the colony's survival, such as reproductive References and Further Reading It has a single node (waist segment) and is 1/4 to more Management for or worker. than 1/2 inch long. It does not have a stinger, but it can The reproductives consist of the queen Klass, C. and D. Karasevicz. 1995. Pest bite. A frequently asked question about these ants is, "Is and the male ants. The male ants fertilize the queen during the ant's nuptial flight, Management Around the Home: Cultural Carpenter Ants it an ant or termite?" If you are still unsure after reading Methods. Miscellaneous Bulletin S74. Cornell the information below, consult Cornell Cooperative then die. The queen finds a secluded site, chews off her wings, and starts to build a Cooperative Extension, Ithaca, NY WHAT TO DO NOW Extension. colony. The queen cares for her first group Lifton, B. 1991. Bug Busters: Poison-Free Pest of offspring through the egg, larval, and Controls for Your House & Garden. Avery Identify the insect. If you are Antennae not “elbowed” pupal stages by herself. After the members Publishing Group, Inc., Garden City Park, certain that you have found a Bent Antennae of this group have changed into adults, they NY carpenter ant, read on. If you aren't take on the care of the young. The queen's 254 pp. sure, turn to "Carpenter ant... or job then becomes laying eggs and 1 Olkowski, H. and W. Olkowski. 1988. Ants in termite" on the inside of this brochure. regulating the activities of the colony. The Broad the House. Common sense pest control IV Narrow Waist queen and colony may survive for 10-15 Don’t panic. Carpenter ants differ Waist, (4) Summer/ fall. Single years, producing hundreds of thousands of from termites, which use wood as a Node Clear offspring. Olkowski, W., S. Daar, and H. Olkowski. 1991. Wings Opaque wings food source and will eat sound wood. The carpenter ant colony may be Common-Sense Pest Control. Taunton Carpenter ants do not eat wood; they located outside of the house in a tree stump Press, Newtown, CT. 716 pp. 2 nest in wet or water-damaged wood. or in a hollow of a living tree. It could also Simeone, J., L. Abrahamson, and C. Klass. Sometimes they find a void to serve as a Carpenter Ant Termite be located in your house. 1988. Carpenter Ants. New York State Tree nesting area. Waist Pinched Thick The worker caste ants are devoted to a Leaflet No. F-3, SUNY College of Most carpenter ant damage occurs during Antennae Bent elbow Straight variety of activities such as nest Environmental Science and Forestry, the summer months. Large numbers of ants Wings Top pair larger than Both pairs similar construction, repair and defense, finding Syracuse, NY. bottom; both are size and opaque can be destructive, yet most times they are food, and feeding and caring for larvae and more of a nuisance than a serious threat to clear; no piles of (milky); piles of Produced by the Urban IPM Program, Cornell University, NYSAES, wings can be found wings found after the queen. Workers vary in size and the structure. In most circumstances, they Geneva, NY 14456; 315-787-2353; <http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ after swarming. swarming. appearance within a species, so size is can coexist with humans until managed with usually not a good characteristic for ipmnet/ny>. Authors: Kathleen Sharpe and Carolyn Klass. Editing and design: Carrie IPM methods. identification. They live for approximately ANT APPETITES AND BAITS Koplinka-Loehr. Cover drawing of carpenter one year. ant is copyrighted by the Bayer Corporation Inspect Your home for the ants, as When the colony has matured, and used by permission. shown inside. Remember that a few Carpenter ants eat insects and the honeydew excreted by carpenter ants establish new colonies by ants does not always mean that an aphids, but they do not eat wood. producing swarms of winged male and The recommendation in this publication infestation is present. Early in the female reproductives. Many people first are not a substitute for pesticide 3 spring, before their regular food is present, Scientists are using their knowledge of ants' preferences become aware that they have ants when labeling. workers often wander inside homes looking the ants initiate the reproductive flight. Read the for sweets. They will scavenge for fats and to develop ant baits (containing low-toxic insecticides) that label other foods. are more specific than traditional chemical controls. A before applying any pesticide. recent formulation is the "dual ant bait," which provides Cornell Cooperative Extension ants with a choice of both sweet and greasy, and may provides equal program and employment opportunities. 6M 5/97 increase the chance of the ants accepting it. More re- search is needed to verify the efficacy of these baits, but results to date are encouraging. HOW TO INSPECT FOR CARPENTER ANTS HOW TO RID YOUR HOME OF CARPENTER ANTS Live Ants Outside the house at night, use a flashlight FIND THE SOURCE REDUCE MOISTURE (preferably with a red cellophane filter) to find live Locate the nest (see "How to Inspect"), vacuum Eliminate excess moisture and wet wood to ants. Examine the foundation, stairs, deck, porch, landscaping timbers, utility wires, and branches of it, and destroy the vacuumed debris. Nearly all make the environment less hospitable to ants. trees and shrubs touching the house. Carpenter carpenter ant damage inside of houses is caused Fix leaks in the roof, pipes, and sinks. lnsulate ants are nocturnal and will move in and out of by these nests, which consist of a few dozen to sweating pipes. Promote ventilation. Use vapor your house at night to feed. thousands of ants. You may need professional barriers when insulating outside walls. Inside the house, look for small piles of help for this step. Clean gutters regularly; adjust drainspouts sawdust and moisture-damaged wood. Check so that water flows away from building. Sawdust corners near walls, inside walls from attic to Replace water-damaged wood. Carpenter basement, windows, skylights. Piles of sawdust are PREVENT ACCESS To keep ants from climbing onto your house, ants seek water-damaged wood because it is from excavations. easier to excavate than sound wood: Search for nests in wall voids beneath prune nearby tree limbs, bushes, and other windowsills, inside doors, under fiberglass vegetation. Leave a 2-ft. strip of gravel around Furthermore, immature ants require high insulation. Void areas are good nesting sites the house to allow for inspection. humidity for development. Nests (because carpenter ants are considered too "lazy" Store firewood away from the house and, Don't place wood in contact with the soil; to excavate sound wood). Check hollow staircase when possible, off the ground. It serves as a use a water-proofing compound where wood is railings, even inside wooden curtain rods. nesting place. in contact with concrete or asphalt. Carpenter ants first create a main colony Seal cracks and pipe and electrical chases (nest). As the colony grows, the ants form satellite USE A LOW-TOXIC INSECTICIDE nests. In managing carpenter ants, it is important with caulk or use sticky barriers. to locate all the nests. The main colony and If you have followed the suggestions on this satellite nest, if present, can exist inside the house PLACE A BAIT page and still need increased management, or outside, near the house. Look along the Purchase a containerized or liquid insecticide bait you might obtain one of the following chimney, where it joins the house, especially if after you have tried non-chemical methods. registered pesticides from a garden supply covered with ivy. Be sure to keep your house free from any store. (These should not be used with baits.) Try to find distinct piles of debris that contain sweets or grease that might distract the ants. diatomaceous earth (a desiccant, which insect parts, and pieces of pupal cases discarded dries up the insect; it's made of finely by worker ants. Look under sills, insulation; near Place containerized bait near a suspected ant openings in secluded walls (cupboards, closets). trail; put liquid bait in cracks and void areas ground microorganisms) During the winter, locate winged adults inside, where ants have been seen. The first sign that pyrethrum product (a chrysanthemum near windows. Ants will be no more than 30 feet the bait is working is an increase in the number of derivative) Debris from the nest. Their presence indicates an indoor ants. silica aerogel (also a desiccant, sold in nest, because normal outdoor emergence time Do not kill any ants, as they must bring the would not be winter! combination with pyrethrum) Look for live ants outside during the day: bait back to the colony where it can be a commercial product containing boric acid Remember that ants avoid sunlight. Search the effective. The entire population should (an effective insect stomach poison and Winged shady sides of likely objects (garden hoses, picket decrease eventually. desiccant that has low toxicity to humans) Adults fences, under logs. Also check branches touching Do not spray any insecticides once you have Some of these products would be ground-and look for shallow ant tunnels in the placed a bait.
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