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About
Florida Carpenter Ants
Introduction
Common Names
Scientific Name
Size
Color
Description
Habitat
Life
Cycle
Pest Status
Nest Sites
Management & Control
Interesting Facts
Coming
soon!
Ant Identification Guide for:
Acrobat
Argentine
Crazy
Fire
Ghost
Little Black
Odorous House
Pavement
Pharoah
White Footed
For now if
you have an unusual ant problem call ABC!
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Carpenter
Ants & Treatment |
Due to the unique nesting and foraging habits of the carpenter ant,
a specialized treatment must be performed for acceptable control of
these pests. Designed for elimination of the nests inside the home,
this treatment includes a thorough application inside and outside
the structure and a dusting of all accessible light switches and
outlets.
We include a 90 day warranty for retreatment of problem areas.
Satellite colonies are quite common when dealing with carpenter
ants. Many times the primary colony is up to 100 yards away from
your home!
Allow ABC Pest Control the opportunity to properly identify the
actual pests before attempting to treat for them. Chances are, a
misapplication will only serve in making the problem worse! For the
safest, most effective treatment method, rely on the professionals
at ABC Pest Control.
Residential/Mobile Home and Commercial Buildings
Contact Us For Pricing Details
|
About
Florida Carpenter Ants |
Common Names:
Florida
carpenter ant, bull ant, Tortugas carpenter ant
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Scientific Name:
Camponotus floridanus
(Buckley) and Camponotus tortuganus (Emery) (Insecta:
Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Subfamily Formicinae: Tribe Camponotini)
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Introduction:
The
Florida carpenter ant complex is comprised of several species, two
of which are common around structures: Camponotus floridanus
(Buckley) and Camponotus tortuganus (Emery). These bicolored
arboreal ants are among the largest ants found in Florida, making
them apparent as they forage or fly indoors and out.
During the
flight season, carpenter ants can often be found in alarming
numbers. Sometimes homeowners are concerned about damage to the
structural integrity of their homes, which they sometimes
incorrectly learn, is caused by Florida carpenter ants. However,
unlike the wood-damaging black carpenter ant, Camponotus
pennsylvanicus (DeGreer), found in Florida's panhandle and a few
other western U.S. species, Florida carpenter ants seek either
existing voids in which to nest or excavate only soft materials such
as rotten or pithy wood and Styrofoam. Other concerns are that these
ants sting (they do not) and bite (they do).
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Size:
Workers vary in size, ranging from 5.5 to 11 mm in length
Winged
females (alates) are the largest caste reaching up to 20 mm in
length.
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Color:
Black,
or sometimes red and black
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Description:
The
antennae of Florida carpenter ants are 12-segmented, with the
terminal segment being slightly elongated and bullet-shaped, and
without a club. There is a circular ring of hair at the end of the
abdomen. The waist consists of one petiolar segment. The antennal
scape is flattened basally and broad throughout. Workers vary in
size, ranging from 5.5 to 11 mm in length. Smaller workers are
called minors while larger workers are called majors. Winged females
(alates) are the largest caste reaching up to 20 mm in length. There
is no sting, but workers can bite and spray formic acid for defense.
The thorax is evenly convex; a key characteristic of carpenter ants.
The thorax and head are ash brown to rusty-orange and the gaster is
black. Body hairs are abundant, long, and golden. Male reproductives
are much smaller than queens with proportionally smaller heads and
larger wings. Specific characters for C. floridanus include
legs and antennal scapes with numerous long, coarse brown to golden
erect hairs, shorter than those on the body. For C. tortuganus,
specific characters include a major worker with head longer than
broad; tibia of all legs and antennal scapes without erect hairs;
and thinner than C. floridanus and paler with less color
contrast.
Carpenter ants are active indoors during many months of the year,
usually during the spring and summer. When ants are active in the
house during late winter/early spring (February/March), the
infestation (nest) is probably within the household. When carpenter
ants are first seen in the spring and summer (May/June), then the
nest is likely outdoors and the ants are simply coming in for food.
The natural food of the ants consists of honeydew from aphids, other
insects, and plant juices, but they will readily forage for water
and food scraps within the house.
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Habitat:
Under
natural conditions, carpenter ants nest in live and dead trees and
in rotting logs and stumps. However, they will also construct their
nests in houses, telephone poles, and other man-made wooden
structures.
Nests
are begun in deteriorating wood which has been exposed to moisture.
Often, the colony will extend its nest to adjacent, sound wood.
Nests are commonly found in porch pillars and roofs, window sills,
and wood in contact with soil.
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Life Cycle:
The
colonies of carpenter ants are often long lived. Each colony is
founded by a single fertilized queen. She establishes a nesting site
in a cavity in wood. She then rears her first brood of workers,
feeding them salivary secretions. She does not leave the nest nor
feed herself throughout this period. The workers which are reared
first assume the task of gathering food with which to feed the
younger larvae. As the food supply becomes more constant, the colony
population grows very rapidly. A colony does not reach maturity and
become capable of producing young queens and males until it contains
2,000 or more workers. It may take a colony from three to six years
or more to reach this stage. Each year thereafter, the colony will
continue to produce winged queens and males, which leave their nest
and conduct mating flights from May through July. Alates (winged
reproductives) are observed from spring to fall, depending on the
area and environmental conditions. Queenless satellite nests are
often founded within 20 to 100 feet of a mature nest. Proximity of
nests can lead to fighting among neighboring colonies.
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Pest Status:
Carpenter ants are one of the most common indoor insect pests in
Florida. Alarmed homeowners often see these ants foraging
(especially at night) and either attempt to control the ants with
spray insecticides or call their local pest control operator (PCO).
PCOs report going to innumerable homes to speak with frantic
homeowners who have failed to control foraging or flying carpenter
ants. An experienced pest control operator, can usually follow a
trail of ants back to the ants' nesting site and treat it (see
Management & Control below).
Complaints are numerous during the spring swarm season, usually
between April and June, when winged reproductives are often found in
homes in such places as along window ledges and near sliding glass
doors. It is common to mistake winged ants for winged termites.
Differences between ants and termites are given below:
Ant Alate
Termite Alate
Contact ABC
Professional Pest Control Service
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Carpenter ants seem to prefer voids for nesting which have these
characteristics:
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Close to moisture and food sources
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Safe from predators such as birds
and lizards
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Safe from flooding, heat, and other
environmental stresses
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Easily accessible (for them, but
inaccessible for the PCO!)
They will hollow out wood softened by moisture and/or fungi to
create nests. This wood can be in tree stumps or dead tree limbs, or
in any part of a structure having damaged wood. They will not
excavate nesting galleries in sound wood. Bits of debris, called
frass, are often ejected from nesting sites. Frass consists of bits
of excavated materials and pieces of dead insects, including
carpenter ants.
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Management & Control:
Control
of carpenter ant infestations requires that the nest be found. Once
this is done, the infested wood can be removed or treated
chemically, and causes of moisture damage to the wood can be
corrected. The best procedure is to inspect all possible
locations-and to select these locations on the basis of potential
water exposure. Once the nest is located, control can be achieved by
the use of an a ABC Pest Control Professional Service.
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Interesting
Facts:
Ants of the genus Camponotus are known
as carpenter ants because they house their colonies in galleries
they excavate in wood. Carpenter ants do not eat the wood they
remove during their nest-building activities, but deposit it outside
entrances to the colony in small piles. The wood is used solely as a
nesting site. The galleries of carpenter ants are kept smooth and
clean, and are not lined with moist soil as termite galleries are.
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