Wood-eating ants are a common nuisance that can cause structural damage to homes and buildings. While ants don’t actually eat wood some species chew through it to create galleries and tunnels to use as nests. Learning to identify the signs of wood-eating ants and implementing preventative measures can help protect your home.
What Ants Chew Through Wood?
Several different species of ants are known to tunnel into wood. Some of the most common include:
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Carpenter ants – There are over 1,000 species of carpenter ants that dig into moist, decaying, or hollow wood to build nest galleries They produce sawdust-like frass outside their nests
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Florida carpenter ants – These ants (Camponotus floridanus) prefer moist wood and can infest wood structures. Their frass piles help identify nest locations.
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Black carpenter ants – Native to the U.S., these ants (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) chew into damp wood and can cause structural damage if left unchecked.
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Red carpenter ants – (Camponotus chromaiodes) Found in the Eastern U.S., these large ants nest in decaying wood and tunnel into tree roots.
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Acrobat ants – Several Crematogaster species chew into wood of trees and structures to create nests.
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Pavement ants – (Tetramorium caespitum) Can chew into moist, rotten wood in or around homes when nesting.
There are also some termite species that look similar to ants but actually consume wood as they tunnel. Proper identification is key to effective prevention and treatment.
Signs of Wood-Eating Ants
Detecting a wood-eating ant infestation early is important to prevent extensive damage. Watch for these signs:
- Small piles of sawdust-like frass near holes in wood
- Galleries visible on wood surfaces
- Hollow sounds when knocking on wood
- Crinkling noises inside walls or wood
- Slowly expanding holes in wood surfaces
- Sawdust or dirt falling from holes in walls/ceilings
Carpenter ants leave smooth galleries packed with debris, while termites leave mud tunnels. Knocking on suspected areas can help determine if ants have hollowed out the wood interior.
Where Do They Nest?
Wood-eating ants usually originate from outdoor nests in trees, stumps, or under rocks. Some species that may invade homes include:
- Black carpenter ants – prefer dead tree limbs and logs
- Red carpenter ants – nest in tree roots and underground
- Odorous house ants – nest outdoors in soil or mulch
- Pharaoh ants – nest almost anywhere indoors or outdoors
Moisture and decaying wood attract nest-seeking ants inside. They often enter through cracks in walls, floors, roots, or foundations. Initial indoor colonies start in hollow doors, wall voids, attics, or under insulation.
Prevention Tips
Preventing access points into your home is key to keeping wood-eating ants away:
- Seal cracks, crevices, holes, and openings with caulk or sealant, especially where wires/pipes enter
- Repair water leaks quickly to prevent wood decay
- Replace moist or rotting wood and eliminate other moisture sources
- Keep wood siding, fences, and structures repaired and properly painted/sealed
- Remove dead trees, stumps, and branches touching the home
- Store firewood away from the home and elevate off the ground
- Ensure proper drainage around the foundation to prevent moisture issues
- Keep tree branches and shrubs trimmed back from the house
- Store food in sealed containers and clean up spills right away
How To Get Rid of Wood-Eating Ants
If you already have an infestation inside your home, treatment methods include:
- Locate and destroy the main nest if possible. This may require professional help.
- Apply ant baits or borax along foraging trails and into nesting areas.
- Inject insecticide dusts or liquids directly into wall voids and galleries.
- Use ant traps containing hydramethylnon, fipronil, or boric acid.
- Apply perimeter pesticide sprays or granules outside.
- Use desiccant dusts like diatomaceous earth in wall voids and crawl spaces.
Completely eliminating ants from a structure can be difficult and may require fumigation. Preventing future access by sealing entry points is critical for long-term control.
When To Call A Professional
Contact a pest control professional if:
- Ants continue returning after thorough home treatment efforts
- You cannot locate the main nest or access nesting areas
- There is extensive damage to walls, wood, or structures
- Ants appear aggressive or are biting
- You see large swarms of winged ants emerging indoors
Companies have the expertise and chemical treatments to effectively eliminate ant colonies and nesting areas within walls or structures. They can also implement preventative treatments to keep ants from returning in the future.
The Bottom Line
While ants don’t consume wood, some species can tunnel extensively into structural wood, causing significant damage over time. Keeping your home sealed and free of moisture issues is key to preventing wood-eating ants from invading your space. Implement prompt treatment measures at the first sign of an infestation to get rid of ants and protect your home. With diligence and preventative care, you can keep these destructive pests under control.
What is a Carpenter Ant?
Carpenter ants are a species of ant that get their name from the way they build nests, because they excavate wood and form smooth tunnels inside of the wood. They do not eat wood, they only tunnel and chew through it to create nests. Piles of fine sawdust are a clear sign of carpenter ants in the house and a likely need for carpenter ant extermination.
What Do Carpenter Ants Look Like?
Carpenter ants vary in size and can be anywhere from ½” to ⅝” long. While black carpenter ants are common, you may also find a combination of black and red, red, or brown.
How to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants (4 Simple Steps)
What ants dig into wood?
The ants are known for creating long galleries of hundreds of yards around wood. These galleries aren’t smooth inside since they are filled with excrements. All tunnels dug by the Eastern Black Carpenter Ant run parallel to the wood grain for easy digging. 4. Cylindromyrmex Ants
Do ants eat wood?
Ants don’t actually eat wood. They chew it up and spit it out digging narrow tunnels inside old wood or damp wood. Ants in wood can be identified by the frass they leave behind. Carpenter ants are one of the most common families of ants in the US that eat through wood. These ants are often found in homes attracted by rotting wood. Further Reading:
Do carpenter ants eat wood?
Almost all Florida Carpenter Ants (Camponotus floridanus) prefer to dig their way through moist wood or decaying wood. These ants don’t start chewing up wood that’s in good condition. The ants are interested in eating their way through outdoor wood such as trees and indoor wood such as the frames of a house, furniture, or windows.
What do carpenter ants chew through?
Carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) are among the 700-plus species of ants in the U.S. However, unlike most other ant species, carpenter ants chew through wood to create tunnels for nesting. Don’t confuse carpenter ants with termites, though. Unlike termites, carpenter ants do not eat wood, but only chew through it to create their smooth tunnels.
What do carpenter ants do with the wood debris?
Unlike termites, carpenter ants do not eat the wood they tunnel into so they must get rid of the wood debris by piling it outside the openings to their tunnels or nests.
Do carpenter ants eat termites?
Carpenter ants are not as destructive as termites, but they will still damage the wooden structure of a home. Since carpenter ants don’t eat the wood they live in and they create tunnels in the material to make their nests, their damage isn’t as obvious as the havoc termites leave behind with their nonstop eating.