Five Things You Should Know About Carpenter Ants

1. Carpenter ants forage in excess of 100ft which means that your pest problem could be coming from your neighbor’s property.
2. Carpenter ants colonies grow slowly in the first two years then grow very quickly. If you see swarming carpenter ants, this means you have a mature colony, at least 4-5 years old.
3. As many as fifteen colonies can thrive in the geographic area of your home.
4. Colonies are huge.  Main nests (brood) can exceed 10,000 ants to as many as 50,000.  Satellite nests typically contain from 500-10,000 ants.
5. Carpenter ants have the ability to survive cold New England winters because of the formic acid (anti-freeze) inside them.