Tampa is a beautiful city known for its hot summers and easy living. Vacationers travel here often, and residents get to enjoy their rewards for hosting. Unfortunately, carpenter ants are a pest that has a notorious reputation for creating damage to homes. At Haskell Termite & Pest Control, we know what carpenter ants look like, and provide quality pest control in Tampa to ensure they aren't a problem in your home.
What Do Carpenter Ants Look Like?
Black carpenter ants are polymorphic, which means that a single colony will produce varying sizes and types of ants. These ants can be dark brown, matte black, red, shiny black, or amber-colored. Their rounded thorax and heart-shaped head distinguish them from other ant species. Like other ant colonies, carpenter ants have queen ants, workers, soldiers, and scouts.
A colony will start with a single wingless queen and have many male and female workers but as the group grows, their appearances change. Over the course of two to three years, once an established colony reaches several thousand workers, it will begin to produce winged ants.
Approximately ten percent of a mature colony will develop wings. Part of this ten percent is a reproductive female and several reproductive males. Winged carpenter ants emerge in the summer and then fly off to establish a satellite colony in the fall.
If you come across carpenter ants with wings on your Tampa property, there is probably another larger colony within 100 yards of your home. To be sure you’ve eliminated the problem, both the parent colony and the satellite colony must be destroyed.
How To Tell If Carpenter Ants Are In Your Home
Black carpenter ants in your home can look like regular black ants if you’re not paying attention. Unlike regular black ants, these pests are destructive, and you don’t want them hanging around for long.
So, here’s what to look for:
- Frass, or ant droppings, look like wood pellets and shavings. Carpenter ant frass in your home is a giveaway that you have an infestation.
- Carpenter ants accumulate in areas that retain moisture like bathrooms, under sinks, near water heaters, and window air-conditioning units.
- Tiny holes in deteriorating wooden furniture or structures around your home are a sign of carpenter ants.
- Carpenter ants will feed on other insects, so discarded insect body parts can be a sign of their cohabitation inside your home.
If you see any kind of ant in your home, you should survey your surroundings for signs of carpenter ants just to be on the safe side.
How Much Damage Can Carpenter Ants Do To Your Home?
Carpenter ants typically burrow through rotting wood, especially if there is mold present. However, if the infestation becomes large enough, these ants will begin to burrow through dry wood as well. In large numbers, they can cause a significant amount of structural damage, so it’s best to get rid of carpenter ants as quickly as possible.
How To Deter Carpenter Ants In Tampa
The most reliable method to get rid of carpenter ants is professional ant control. Here at Haskell Termite & Pest Control, we provide thorough and effective treatments to protect your home from extensive and costly carpenter ant damage.