I googled around for information on carpenter ants. On one hand, reliable sources (like University agricultural extension services) emphasize carpenter ants do not eat wood like termites. OTOH, it is mentioned they tunnel through wood and can cause structural damage. How concerned should I be about the appearance of carpenter ants INSIDE the house? What’s the facts here when it comes to protecting a home from these bugs?
I had a brief visitation of carpenter ants just once. I lived in a trailer in the hills in an oak-and-pine forest. I had a big beetle or cockroach that came in and died (or I killed it, I forget which). Anyway, it was on a paper towel by the kitchen sink, and dried up somewhat and got stuck to the paper towel.
So, before I went out for the day, I noticed some carpenter ants poking around it.
When I got back home several hours later, the dead bug was totally completely utterly gone. There was a hole eaten out of the paper towel where it was stuck. And no carpenter ants in sight.
I had some ants build me a table, and it’s always been kind of wobbly. I’d go with the Amish, if you have a choice.
I have repaired many a porch. They are very bad. Posts completely hollowed near the bottom. Structural sills nothing but tunnels. They get under shingles in a wet area and destroy the wood decking underneath. Nothing worse then flipping a row of shingles up and seeing hundreds of ants.
Dennis
I have always heard that unlike termites, carpenter ants only eat rotted wood, and are a symptom of a moisture problem. You could kill every carpenter ant in a 100 mile radius and your porch will still collapse from the rot. Ants tell you there’s a problem that needs to be addressed.
I can confirm this. I had a garden window that had moisture issues with the bottom shelf and the ants set up a nest there and ate it up. Didn’t touch the window sill next to it. Still the were coming into the house so they had to be dealt with in the most extreme manner. Bayer makes this liquid that kills them, after a couple of applications they were gone. A year later I took the window and observed what they could do to rotting wood.
True, that is why they are usually found where wood contacts the ground or masonry like sills, or where posts sit on porches and are not caulked. Ant greatly accelerate the process. When we replace the floor joists and other parts of an old porch, there is often a combination of problems. Combined with the general situations of undersized joists and poor structural choices (1), old porches make for a steady business repairing them.
(1) On most older porches the posts rest only on the floor boards, there is no supporting structure underneath. The corners get the most rain, the floor boards under them rot, and the posts start sinking.
If it is a two story porch we often find the same situation at the top, the top of the posts bear directly on the ceiling boards rather than a structural member. Perhaps there is a short board wedged in there to carry load but that’s it.
That is how they were built. Complete the bottom and top porches with the upper porch supported on temporary braces, cut the posts to fit and shove them in place. They are usually not even nailed. We jack up the top deck an inch and the posts fall out.
Whenever I hear someone talk about “They don’t build them like that anymore…”, my response is “Thank goodness”!
Dennis
I never assume a corner is square unless I built it myself. Then I’m damn well sure it’s not square, but I know it’s close enough for me, and that’s what counts.