Carpenter Ants play a key role in our South Carolina ecosystem. In particular carpenter ants aid in the decomposition of decaying trees. Unfortunately carpenter ants don’t always stick to the woods & forests. They will sometimes infiltrate businesses, homes, and other buildings. Many times small leaks from roofs, plumbing, or high moisture in crawl spaces will create moist or rotten wood. Although chewing through moist or rotten wood is easier and faster for carpenter ants, they will chew through any wood products to get to nesting areas. They do not actually eat the wood. Carpenter ants prefer sweet sugars, like honeydew, produced by aphids. Carpenter ants are like kids, in your house they are attracted to honey, sugar, syrups, jelly, and other sweets. They only tunnel through wood to create, or get to nesting areas and food. 

Carpenter ants cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to U.S. structures every year. Although termites cause much more destruction, the threat of carpenter ant damage to South Carolina homes is very high. 

Signs of carpenter ants:

• Piles of wood shavings. Carpenter ants do not eat the wood, but they do tunnel or burrow in it. They will also burrow through dressers, cabinets, tables or any other wooden items. 
• Listen for carpenter ants in the walls. If you suspect carpenter ants in your walls or furniture, tap on it. This will sometimes disturb nesting carpenter ants. Press your ear to the wall, you may hear them moving about. 
• Look for worker ants early morning or late night. Carpenter ant workers like to come out after dark. Leave the lights off and use a flashlight to search along baseboards, cabinets, and other areas you may suspect activity.