Will carpenter ants go away?

Carpenter ants are one of the most common household pests across the United States. These large black ants nest inside wood and can cause significant structural damage if left unchecked. Many homeowners notice carpenter ants around their property and wonder – will carpenter ants eventually just go away on their own? Or do they require active steps to get rid of them for good?

Do Carpenter Ants Ever Go Away On Their Own?

Unfortunately, carpenter ant infestations will not resolve on their own. Unlike some other ant species that may randomly wander into a home by accident, carpenter ants actively colonize and reproduce inside wood. Once they have established a nest inside your home’s wood framing, floors, furniture etc., they will not leave unless forced out.

Some key reasons why carpenter ants won’t disappear without intervention:

• Established colonies – Mature carpenter ant nests contain the queen, eggs, larvae and thousands of worker ants. As long as the nest remains undisturbed, the colony will continue to grow and breed year after year.
• Favorable environment – Carpenter ants choose to nest in locations with suitable moisture, warmth and access to food. As long as those conditions exist in your home, the ants have no reason to vacate the premises.
• Expand into new areas – Carpenter ant colonies often branch into satellite nests over time, spreading to new areas of your home. If the original nest is not eliminated, the problem will keep getting worse.

So while a few foraging worker ants may randomly wander into your home from outside on occasion, an established carpenter ant infestation will thrive indefinitely if left unmanaged. Waiting it out is never an effective solution.

Signs of a Significant Carpenter Ant Problem

How can you identify when carpenter ants are more than just casual visitors, and are actually nesting on your property? Some red flags include:

• Seeing numerous large ants, around 1/4-1/2 inch long. Foraging worker ants may traverse long distances from the nest to search for food.
• Ant sightings persist over weeks/months, instead of disappearing after a short period.
• Evidence of ant nests inside wood – sawdust, small holes, hollow sounding areas when tapped.
• Wings left behind after swarmers emerge. Carpenter ants swarm in the spring.
• Sounds of carpenter ant activity in walls, flooring, etc.

If you observe these types of signs, it means carpenter ants have likely established one or more colonies in your home. Without removing their nests, the infestation will continue.

Do Carpenter Ants Cause Harm?

While carpenter ants do not consume wood like termites, their nesting habits still cause major problems, including:

• Structural Damage – Carpenter ants chew small channels and tunnels inside wood as they expand their nest. This severely compromises stability and strength.
• Safety Issues – Nesting activity can lead to collapse of wooden beams, floorboards, roofing, and other critical components.
• Ruined Insulation – Ants will strip and shred insulation for nesting materials.
• Risk of Water Damage – Leaky roofs, wet flooring, mold growth, etc. can occur as nest galleries break down wood.
• Electrical Shorts – Ant tunnels in wooden walls can expose and damage wiring.
• Spread of Molds – Carpenter ant nests contain moist debris that cultivates mold growth.

The longer an ant colony resides in your home, the greater the potential destruction. Even if the ants disappear for a period, perhaps during winter, their previous nesting damage remains behind and leaves your home vulnerable.

Effective Ways to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants

Now that you know carpenter ants will not vacate your property on their own, here are methods to actively eliminate an infestation:

Inspect and Find the Nest(s)

Locating all carpenter ant nests is crucial for an effective treatment. A thorough inspection around the exterior and interior of your home should be conducted. Look closely near wood that contacts soil, roof eaves, decks, tree stumps, and moist locations. Drill small test holes into suspect wood to check for ants. Attics, crawlspaces and unfinished basements also need searched. Wall voids can be checked by tapping on surfaces and listening for hollow sounds. An experienced pest management professional has specialized tools and knowledge to pinpoint nest locations.

Apply a Residual Insecticide Treatment

After finding all nesting areas, a residual insecticide should be applied into galleries and around nest sites. This allows worker ants to pick up the active ingredient and distribute it throughout the colony to kill off developing eggs, larvae and queens. Insecticide dusts are useful for dry wood, while liquid sprays can treat ground and masonry surfaces where ants travel between the nest and food. Baits generally do not work well with carpenter ants.

Remove and Replace Damaged Wood

Since carpenter ants damage wood from the inside out, framing, insulation and other materials around the nest often must be taken out and replaced to fully repair the infestation site. Any evidence of moisture sources or wood decay should also be corrected at this time to discourage the area from being re-colonized in the future. Prompt repairs help restore structural integrity and prevent further damage.

Follow Preventative Measures

Even after eliminating all detected nests, carpenter ants may eventually return and try to establish new colonies if conditions remain favorable. Here are some tips to make your home less inviting long-term:

• Ensure firewood stacks, tree stumps and wood debris are kept well away from the building’s exterior.
• Seal off exterior cracks, holes or imperfections that allow indoor access.
• Reduce moisture issues from leaks, condensation, landscape watering, etc.
• Store firewood indoors only in winter, not year-round.
• Trim back tree/shrub branches and vines that touch or overhang the house.

Being proactive with repairs and prevention is key to avoiding recurring carpenter ant problems down the road.

When to Call a Pest Control Professional

While some homeowners attempt do-it-yourself carpenter ant control with consumer products, this approach has limitations. Liquid ant baits, sprays and dusts available at hardware stores may kill a portion of the worker ants you see. But they often fail to reach the entire colony and nesting areas.

Here are signs it’s time to call in a licensed pest control company:

• Ants return within days/weeks after attempting your own treatments
• You keep finding more ant nesting sites around the property
• Significant structural damage from carpenter ants is apparent
• The infestation has spread to neighbors’ properties as well
• You rent the home – pest control is usually the landlord’s responsibility

Professional exterminators have access to the most potent insecticides, including long-lasting residuals and growth regulators that affect reproductive capacity. They also have specialized tools and equipment to inject chemicals deeply into wood voids. This comprehensive approach stands the best chance of eliminating carpenter ants at the nest.

DIY Carpenter Ant Control

While professional treatment is ideal, you can try some initial do-it-yourself steps to reduce carpenter ant numbers:

Clean up possible food sources:

• Store food in sealed containers and refrigerate when possible
• Rinse dishes and empty trash frequently
• Clean up spilled juices, crumbs and pet food
• Fix leaky faucets and pipes
• Remove recyclables and compost promptly

Eliminating access to sugary foods, proteins and moisture sources will encourage ants to look elsewhere for foraging.

Apply residual sprays and dusts:

Use an over-the-counter ant killer product in the following areas:

• Along the exterior foundation of your home
• Around doors and windows
• Cracks in walls, floors and ceilings
• Other possible entry points like attic vents

Focus the treatment along ant trails and where you see the most activity. Apply according to label instructions, wearing protective gloves and eye covering. Do not over-apply.

Caulk and seal openings:

Make your home less inviting to future invaders by sealing gaps where ants enter:

• Cracks and crevices
• Around utility pipes and wires
• Gaps around windows and doors
• Holes in exterior siding or stucco
• Vents, soffits and roof eaves

Removing easy access points forces ants to look elsewhere for nest sites.

Make the surrounding landscape less hospitable:

• Remove ivy, bushes and wood debris touching the house exterior. Provide 1-2 ft clearance.
• Trim back overhanging tree branches
• Keep firewood elevated off the ground and far from the foundation
• Replace rotting wood features like fence posts and landscape timbers
• Ensure sprinklers spray away from the structure

Making the perimeter area dry discourages ants from foraging nearby.

When Carpenter Ants Are Not in the Home

Sometimes carpenter ants only occupy sections of the yard landscape outside, without invading the home’s interior. Examples include:

• Hollowed out tree stumps
• Logs, firewood piles or railroad ties
• Under stones, mulch beds, compost piles
• voids inside garden woodwork

For outdoor-only carpenter ant colonies, treatment is similar to indoor nests:

• Locate the nest(s)
• Apply residual insecticide directly into galleries and entry points
• Remove and replace badly damaged wood around previous nest sites
• Follow-up with preventative measures to make the area less hospitable long-term

Getting rid of all nesting sites on your property guards against carpenter ants relocating back into your home in the future. Monitoring and repeat treatments are key to fully clearing an established infestation.

Natural Carpenter Ant Remedies

There are also some non-toxic methods to try against carpenter ants, with variable effectiveness:

Diatomaceous earth – This powder made from crushed seashells kills ants through abrasion and dehydration when they come into contact with it. Apply along baseboards, window sills, and ant trails. However, diatomaceous earth is less effective in moist areas favored by carpenter ants.

Essential oils – Some research indicates oils like peppermint, tea tree, lemongrass and citrus may repel or kill carpenter ants. Use these diluted oils to spray ant trails, entry points and other areas of activity. Oils may be irritating for pets though.

Desiccant dusts – Chalk, talcum powder and medicated body powder can dry out carpenter ant exoskeletons. Lightly apply around nests, but avoid inhaling the dust.

Ant baits – Borax and boric acid powders are natural insecticides that work when carried back to the nest by foraging ants. Mix them with sugary bait to attract carpenter ants. However, baiting alone rarely eliminates entire colonies.

Freezing – Research indicates carpenter ants die when exposed to temperatures below 0 F for several days. This may be impractical for large nests already inside the home, but could help destroy a newly detected outdoor nest.

The downside is most natural remedies kill ants too slowly, or only partially reduce the colony population. And they leave the nest structure intact, allowing ants to recover. So natural options work best along with more comprehensive methods of carpenter ant control.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some other common questions about eliminating carpenter ant infestations:

How long does it take for carpenter ants to go away after treatment?

It can take 3-4 weeks to fully clear out carpenter ants after professional treatment. The active ingredients must be carried back to destroy eggs and larvae deep inside the nest, which takes time. A follow-up visit is usually scheduled 2-3 weeks later, with additional applications if still needed.

What smell drives carpenter ants away?

Carpenter ants are repelled by strong odors from essential oils like peppermint, tea tree, citrus and eucalyptus. The reaction varies based on species and concentration though. Rubbing alcohol also evaporates quickly to kill and displace ants. Light misting around doors, windows and other entry points may help deter them.

What temperature kills carpenter ants?

Carpenter ants can survive in a wide range of temperatures outdoors. However, exposure to extreme cold can be lethal. Temperatures below 0 F for several days are needed to freeze carpenter ants found inside trees, stumps, landscape features, etc. This is difficult to replicate indoors where nests are within wood voids. Professional heat treatments can raise indoor temperatures to 130+ F to kill ants within wall voids.

Can carpenter ants damage houses?

Yes, carpenter ants can certainly damage homes. Chewing through wood framing compromises stability and increases risk of collapse. They remove insulation for nesting, exposing wall interiors. Ant tunnels also contribute to conditions favorable for mold, fungus and decay. Their galleries cause leaks, electrical issues, and other problems too. Even a long abandoned nest leaves wood in a severely weakened state.

Do carpenter ants ever abandon their nest?

Abandoning their nest is atypical for carpenter ants. Their colonies require very specific conditions, so they rarely choose to relocate once established somewhere. Carpenter ants only leave if forced out by infestation treatment, or if some drastic change eliminates their food/water supply. They will not voluntarily leave a well-suited nest simply due to homeowner disturbance or attempts at do-it-yourself control. Getting them to abandon their nest requires professional pest control.

Conclusion

Carpenter ants can be one of the most destructive pests to invade a home. Their tunneling and nesting within structural woodwork leads to safety risks and expensive damages if left unchecked. Relying on the ants to disappear on their own never provides control. But targeted, thorough treatment of all nesting areas offers the best chance of clearing an infestation. This then allows preventative measures to be implemented for keeping carpenter ants away long-term. With persistence and the help of a pest management professional when needed, it is possible to eliminate carpenter ants and prevent further destruction to your property.