In the world of wood-boring insects, bigger is better. Carpenter ants are easier to find than termites.
Carpenter ant damage can be detected by looking for “frass” (looks like sawdust). Carpenter ants nest in wood, so they hollow out a piece of wood and leave the frass outside.
Carpenter ants don’t eat wood. They chew wood and spit it out. What they actually eat are sugars made by other insects, and sometimes meat or syrups and pet food in your house. Some people find out they have carpenter ants because they find one looking around the kitchen for lunch!
What is the difference between a flying termite and a flying carpenter ant?
Termites are oval shaped. Carpenter ants have a skinny middle.
Termite wings are longer than their bodies. Carpenter ant wings are the same size as their bodies.
Both have four wings. Termite wings are all the same size. Carpenter ant wings have one small set and one large set of wings.
That’s a termite.
Extermination:
Carpenter ants are cheaper to exterminate than termites. You can do it yourself, or a professional can do it for you for a few hundred dollars.
Termites require a professional. The poison treatment costs about $2000. The exterminators drill holes around the ground near the foundation and insert poison every few inches. There are also bait systems that attract termites outside the house. When the termites come, they are served a hormone that disrupts their reproduction and the nest dies. The poison service is more of a one-and-done experience. The baits need to monitored every few months to be effective.
Either kind of insect can do a lot of damage, over time. In the tropics, these insects don’t have the dormant periods that they have here. There, they do structural damage in less than a year. But in the northeast, they have a short season. It takes years for a nest of termites to do structural damage to a house sill or carpenter ants to structurally damage a sill or porch.
Check your house. Exterminate wood boring insects as soon as you can. The longer you leave them, the more of your house they will chew. Stop them early and save yourself money!
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