How to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants

In the forest, these ants help dispose of decaying wood. In your home, they can do serious damage.

No one wants to deal with any ant inside or outside their home, but carpenter ants have a reputation not only for being a nuisance, but causing serious damage. It's important to identify and get rid of carpenter ants quickly before they have a chance to invade and potentially destroy the structural integrity of your home.

What Are Carpenter Ants?

Carpenter ants are wood-destroying insects that provide a significant service in nature, but are destructive in residential settings. In the forest they perform an important role by decomposing decaying trees. In homes, though, they can cause considerable destruction to structural timbers, ceilings, and floor areas. They can also be a nuisance by crawling about the house in search of food.

The damp, decaying wood common after a hurricane or other large storm provides a prime place for carpenter ants to build their nests, whether that wood is part of your house or a damaged tree nearby. Even minor damage like missing shingles or out-of-place gutters can let enough moisture in to start the decay process. Be sure to make any needed post-storm home repairs as soon as you're able to.

These ants do not sting, but their bites can be painful. Most adult carpenter ants are black or reddish black and ¼ to ½-inch long. There is usually just one queen per colony. Some carpenter ants, called swarmers, have wings and are responsible for reproduction and establishing new colonies. They are often confused with termite swarmers, but carpenter ants have noticeably tiny waists, larger forewings with smaller back wings, and typically black to dark red coloring. Termites, by contrast, have wider waists, back and fore wings that are the same size, and dark brown to creamy white coloring.

How to Prevent and Control Carpenter Ants

Preventing carpenter ants from coming into your house in the first place is the first step. An extremely effective way to do that is to create a bug barrier around the perimeter of your home with Ortho® Home Defense Insect Killer for Indoor & Perimeter2 with Comfort Wand®. Apply it around window and door casings and along baseboards. Don't worry—it's odor-free and won't stain, and it dries fast. This home pest control product also kills any carpenter ants already in your house that come in contact with it. As with any product, make sure to read and follow all label directions.

Here are a few things you can do outside to make your house less attractive to carpenter ants:

Eliminate moisture sources. Look for areas where water might be causing damage or decay around your property and fix it. Structural defects and weather-damaged areas should be repaired.
Properly ventilate damp areas. Inspect and clean gutters before the rainy season and seal openings in the foundation, windows, and other access areas into the home.
Properly store firewood. Firewood piles should be elevated above the ground and located as far from the house as is practical.
Prune your trees and shrubs. Prune bushes and trees away from the home. Because they provide bridges for ants, tree branches and bushes should not touch structures.

If you do find yourself with a carpenter ant infestation, it's time to get out the ant baits and let carpenter ants carry bait back to their friends to kill off the colony. Give ant baits several days to work and don't apply any sprays while you're waiting. Once you've got the problem under control, use a preventative treatment like Ortho® Home Defense Insect Killer for Indoor & Perimeter2 with Comfort Wand® and follow the steps outlined above to keep them from coming back a second time. Depending on the size of your infestation, it may be necessary to call in pros for complete control and to give your home a thorough inspection to make sure there's no structural damage.

Carpenter ants, like any other ant, are not a fun pest to tackle. With a little know-how, you can get rid of carpenter ants and keep them from coming back.