Don’t confuse them with termites since carpenter ants do not eat wood, but tunnel instead through the wood in buildings to make nests. They can be difficult to pinpoint and require professional extermination treatment as they cause damage to the wood structure and foam insulation in your property.

The signs are:

• Noise-if you hear a crunching sound in the walls or ceiling. Nests are built inside wood beams.
• Sawdust-when nests become established the carpenter ants leave trails of sawdust.
• Winged Carpenter Ants (swarmers)emerging from around vents, window casings and baseboards. Typical season for this is spring or summer. If there are more than 20, this can indicate the presence of a large colony.
• Damaged Wood-carpenter ants nest inside wood, thus creating ‘galleries’ of tunnels and open spaces.