How to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants

The Carpenter ant, or Camponotus spp if we have to call it by its scientific name, is a fairly big species of ants that are known to terrorise Australian homeowners. It’s considered more of a nuisance pest, as it’s not one that can cause serious damage to your home or your family. However, there probably isn’t a soul out there that is okay living with an ongoing ant infestation.

From properly identifying the carpenter ants to learning how to eradicate an ongoing infestation, the Fantastic Services pest controllers have got you covered.

What are carpenter ants?

Carpenter ants are a polymorphic species. Their size ranges from 3mm to 12mm, with most ants being on the bigger side. Their mandibles have around eight teeth, which helps them to bore through wood.

They are known to vary in colour, so you can encounter carpenter ants in the shade of dark orange all the way to black. The black colour gets them oftentimes confused with other black house ants’ species.

What causes carpenter ants?

Despite their name, carpenter ants don’t feed on wood. They just bore through damp wood or decaying timber in order to create their nest. These ant species would normally dispose of the wood outside of their nest.

So what do carpenter ants eat? In fact, these big black ants are attracted to sugary liquids such as honeydew. Because of their sweet cravings, carpenter ants are known to tend to aphids for their honeydew. This can turn an infestation into an even bigger problem if you’re an avid gardener, as the potential food source would attract the insects.

It’s actually not that surprising that carpenter ants can be found in abundance throughout all of Australia. They can easily adapt to living both indoors and outdoors and can really become a nuisance once they manage to get inside a home.

Food and suitable nesting location are the most likely reasons why you have these ants in or around your property.

Carpenter ants prefer to settle close to water and areas with high humidity, such as bathrooms and kitchens. Since humidity could be responsible for a lot of issues indoors, including damage to wooden furniture and foundation, we advise you to inspect thoroughly all wooden structures present both in your home and in your backyard. This way you can catch even the early signs of a carpenter ant infestation.

Signs of a carpenter ant infestation

There are a couple of different ways to make sure the big black ants roaming in your house are indeed carpenter ants. Below you will find some evidence to look out for and steps to identify a carpenter ant invasion.

• Of course, you will have to do a thorough investigation of your property. However, keep in mind that these ants are mostly active during the later hours, so you may have to wait for the night before you do a check-up.
• As we mentioned before, carpenter ants prefer to make their nests in damp, decaying or old wood, so the nesting location is pretty telling. Focus on the structure of your home, inner walls (particularly ones closer to the bathroom or your kitchen). Search around window frames as well. Camponotus spp are known to choose the frames of windows and even doors to make their nest in.
• While carpenter ants don’t feed on the wood, they’re boring through it and, therefore, it is likely to find sawdust-like wood around the nest.
• Carpenter ants are also known to travel pretty far when foraging, so just because you’ve noticed one or two ants, it doesn’t mean that the nest is nearby. You can have a whole bunch of ants in your kitchen, and the nest itself can be located all the way up in the attic.
• If you’ve narrowed down the search for the nest, listen carefully to check if you’re on the right path. Tapping on the wall will make the ants rustle. If it’s quiet enough you can hear this sound.

How to get rid of carpenter ants

Eliminating the carpenter ants infesting your house is not a dangerous process, but it can be hard. While it’s best done by a professional, you can try to do it yourself.

Natural ways to get rid of carpenter ants

Before we continue with the natural (or DIY) methods, know that killing carpenter ants using home remedies takes time and patience. Also, it’s not very effective if you have a huge ongoing infestation in your home.

Make carpenter ants baits

Mix one part of boric acid with ten parts of sugar water (carpenter ants love sugar water). Place multiple baits close to the ant trails or to the nest (if you’ve found it).

Boric acid will kill the carpenter ants but it will take time. Depending on the size of the infestation you may have to place baits four-five-six times before you start seeing any results.

Use Diatomaceous Earth (DE)

Diatomaceous earth is probably the oldest trick in the book to battle not only carpenter ants but many other pests, as well. And, if you’re super patient it can work.

Keep in mind that if you go shopping for DE, you can also find it under ‘diatomite’. The soft sedimentary rock has a huge benefit – it’s safe for pets and children. Make sure you buy food-grade diatomaceous earth.

As the carpenter ants can’t digest the dust properly they dry from dehydration.

Still, if you’re pressured by time (for example you’re renting the property) we advise you to seek the help of a professional pest controller. They have access to far stronger pesticides that will do the job much faster than any store-bought pesticide or a DIY method.

How to prevent carpenter ants

As we all know, the best way to deal with an infestation, regardless of the type of pest, is to try and prevent it in the first place. That’s particularly true for carpenter ants, as these buggers can be quite stubborn.

With that in mind, here are some good practices you can follow to keep carpenter ants away from your property.

Do you have a personal experience you’d like to share with us? We’d love to hear it in the comments below!