Carpenter Ants are one of the largest species of ants.

Carpenter Ants get their name by mining out 'galleries' in dead, damp wood. Although they generally do not do a great deal of damage, if they mine out an area in the structure of a home, they can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage. Making their nests in deteriorating, damp wood, Carpenter Ants are most commonly found in wooded areas. However, they often choose human residences as their dwelling place. They are most active indoors in the spring and summer months. However, just because they are indoors doesn't mean their nest is indoors. However, if they are seen indoors during the winter, they are probably living inside. Carpenter Ants feed on honeydew from aphids, plant juices and other insects, but they also forage for food inside the house. Carpenter Ants do not eat wood, as many people assume. However, they do make their nests in wood and mine out 'galleries,' leaving coarse sawdust outside their home. Normally, Carpenter Ants mine their galleries in dead trees or rotting logs. However, if the conditions are right, they also make their nests in telephone poles and houses. Carpenter Ant colonies consist of one fertile queen who establishes the nest. She first gives birth to eggs that bear workers who further excavate the nest. She feeds the workers on salivary secretions. The workers then begin to bring back food, either carrying it or ingesting it to later feed to young larvae. The colony can grow quite quickly. A mature colony contains at least 2,000 workers. After the colony reaches maturity, it begins to produce young, winged queens and males, which have mating flights in the spring and summer. After mating, the young queens leave to start their own colonies.

Carpenter Ants are quite large, ranging between 1/8 and 1/2 an inch long. The queen can be even larger. The adult ants are usually black, although some species are reddish. The larvae are white and look like maggots. They can take anywhere from three months to almost a year, depending on temperature and other conditions, to complete the three stages of development: egg, larvae and pupae.

Although Carpenter Ants are not as much of a pest as termites, which do eat wood, they can pose a problem if the integrity of the structure they're nesting in is threatened. To eradicate the pest, it is necessary to find their nest. It is best to introduce insecticide directly to the nest, then to the whole house, as it limits the amount of insecticide used and increases control.

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