Carpenter ants cause serious damage to buildings by boring tunnels in wood.

The Spruce / Alex Dos Diaz

Carpenter ants (Camponotusspp.)

What Causes Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants are drawn to any dead, decaying wood.

How to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants

The Spruce / Alex Dos Diaz

The black carpenter ant can currently be found in virtually all regions east of the Rocky Mountains.

The most popular ant control method is to use bait.

Ant baits work by lacing a sweet substance with a substance toxic to ants, such asborax.

A black carpenter ant

Jeffrey van Haren / 500px / Getty Images

Over a period of weeks, an entire colony can be killed in this way.

This process can take several weeks.

It is applied to ants in the same way as boric acid and works by the same principle.

Winged Carpenter Ant

Winged Carpenter AntJoseph Berger /Bugwood Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health

Its effectiveness depends on precise tool, and perhaps repeated treatments, until a colony is eradicated.

Pyrethroid chemical pesticides include those with names such as deltamethrin, cypermethrin, bifenthrin, or gamma-cyhalothrin.

If the carpenter ants still appear to be present after two weeks, repeat the treatment.

Carpenter Ant

Carpenter ants can be small or large in sizeRichard Bartz

And the wood replacement process can quite involved if the damage has seriously weakenedload-bearing walls.

Dry up leaks inside and outside the home, and repair any moisture-damaged wood when you find it.

Next, deal with sources of nearby decaying wood outside the home.

Carpenter Ant frass

Carpenter Ant FrassNY State IPM Program at Cornell University

Firewood piles should be located well away from the house or garage.

Trim away any tree branches so they do not touch the exterior walls or roof.

Carpenter Ants.University of Minnesota Extension, 2020.

Carpenter Ant Damage

Carpenter Ant DamagePublic Domain; State of Maine

Black carpenter ant.University of Arkansas.

Dominguez, Karen D.Is Borax Safe Around Children?National Capital Poison Center.

IPM for Ants.University of NebraskaLincoln.

carpenter ants: camponotus laevigatus impact on wood san f rancisco, ca, usa

Oxford Scientific / Getty Images

Ramchandra, Atul M, and Peter J Victor.Pyrethroid Poisoning.Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine, vol.

S4, 2019, pp.

0-0.Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishing, doi:10.5005/jp-journals-10071-23304

Pyrethrins.National Pesticide Information Center, 2014.