Carpenter Ants

What are Carpenter Ants?

The big ones. Black, or black-and-red. Pinched waist, elbowed antennae. Flying reproductives in April and May have two pairs of uneven wings. People mix them with termite swarmers every spring.

Are they dangerous?

They do not eat wood. They tunnel wet or rotting wood and can weaken fascia, sills, and porch posts. Bite feels like a pinch. Not venomous in a medical sense.

What causes them?

Parent nest is often a stump or wet tree. Satellite nests move into damp framing, leaky windows, and rotten fascia. Food is insects, honeydew, and sweets — not the wood itself.

Signs in the house

Frass that looks like pencil shavings. Rustle in a wall. Big flying ants on windows in April–May.

In Middle Tennessee

Wooded lots and wet fascia across Spring Hill, Columbia, Santa Fe, and Franklin.

What Death Row does

Find the nest, treat galleries, fix the moisture. Kitchen bait alone will not end a carpenter job. Call or text 931-500-6969.

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