I’ve been seeing large black ants with wings around my bedroom window. I didn’t see them last year but I did notice some big black ants walking outside the house on the wall just below that same window. Now I’m thinking these are related. Do I have some kind of ant problem?
You’re describing carpenter ants and I’m pretty sure the ones with wings are what we refer to as carpenter ant swarmers. These are special ants also known as reproductives which colonies send out every spring and fall to start new colonies. Since they will only emerge from established nests, it’s reasonable to assume you had an active nest last year which is now releasing these ants to go and start new colonies somewhere else. Because the nest is on the home, some are finding their way inside instead of outside where they really want to be. Since carpenter ants can cause a lot of damage to wood, you’ll need to treat the nest as described in our CARPENTER ANT CONTROL ARTICLE.
Since you’re finding them close to the window, one would naturally think the nest is somewhere in the vicinity. In fact this is a common location for carpenter ant nests to exist. But to be sure you need to follow the directions we outline in our article on how to track ant trails and locate where they live. As you’ll learn, most any carpenter ant problem will involve multiple nests and if you wish to get rid of them you’ll need to get all satellite nests. Hopefully you’ll be able to locate the nests and if you can, treating them with DRIONE will provide the quickest control. If you’re not able to locate nests and are at a loss for where they are living but see active worker ants, a thorough TERMIDOR application could resolve the problem. If all else fails, call a service company to do the treatment. Carpenter ants can cause a lot of damage and any activity on or around a structure is a sure sign of a nest close by. Letting it survive for any length of time could result in costly damage and therefore a thorough treatment of the area should be done to insure this isn’t the case.
Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:
Carpenter Ant Control Article: https://www.carpenterants.com/carpenter-ant-control
Drione Dust: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page91.html
guest says
Hello,
Last summer we had lg black ants crawling virtually everywhere in the house. I purchased the Terro liquid ant killer which worked well about three years ago but didn’t work this year for some strange reason. I would open up the cabinet under the sink or open up the dishwasher and they would scurry like cockroaches. As fall/winter approached they died down, but now I’m starting to see them primarily in my bedroom in the middle of winter. I usually see about 4 to 5 a day for now but I do fear that once spring arrives I will start to see more. I don’t have any food in my room so I’m not sure why the are in my room. For now it seems they are in my room. Outside of my room is where we store our firweood could this be where they are coming from? I also have a sump pump in the basement that has an opening could they be coming from there?
Thank you
admin says
@guest: If you read through our carpenter ant control article, you’ll learn that ants active in the winter means there is a nest located somewhere in the home. Most likely in a wall void, they’re moving about since the living space is heated. If you suspect you know which wall void this might be, dusting it with the Drione listed above would knock out the problem immediately. As you’ll learn in the article, Drione is highly effective when used in wall voids to treat nests. Fortunately you only have to come within a few feet of it to have success with Drione which makes it ideal for spaces like wall voids.
If you’re not sure where they’re coming from or where they might be nested, you could opt to apply Phantom Aerosol inside. This slow working aerosol will no doubt get any which walk out over the treatment and because of the way Phantom works, you could defeat the entire nest within a week or two. Keep in mind it’s not fast acting but very different from most products in that it slowly infiltrates the nest and in the end shuts it all down. Phantom can be seen here:
http://www.bugspray.com/item/phantom_aerosol.html
Lastly, I strongly suggest you start treating the outside of the home this spring with the Termidor mentioned above. No doubt you have ants inside because you’ve allowed them to live and prosper outside. As our carpenter ant article explains, this ant will make several nests all connected to one another and by the summer they’ll be hard to defeat if you don’t get them early in the season. A good treatment with the Termidor to outside areas where they might be active will shut them out for good and more importantly, prevent future nesting.
At this point I suggest you read our article to get a better understanding of this ant and if you have further questions, give us a call toll free at 1-800-877-7290.
https://www.carpenterants.com/carpenter-ant-control
guest says
We have seen 3 or 4 small black ants. Saw 2 in the kitchen on the floor and 2 in our second floor shower. Do you think they are carpenter ants? Its the middle of winter we live in wisconson. Can you send picture of carpenter ant.
admin says
@guest: If you read through our Carpenter Ant Control Article, you’ll be able to see some slow motion video of these ants which will help identify what you have a lot better than just a picture. Our article also points out it’s quite common to see these guys in the winter as you have described. Lastly, the size of the ant you’re seeing won’t be a major factor. Our article goes over the fact that this species of ant will have a large range of sizes in an active colony ranging from huge 1 inch + members right down to small sized ants that could easily be mistaken for pavement ants. Though it can sometimes take a trained eye to tell for sure what any species might be, no doubt the Phantom mentioned above would be a good way to deal with the problem immediately regardless of their species. So in a nutshell, if you treat now with some Phantom it won’t matter what they are; the treatment could solve the problem. But in the spring if you note a lot of large black ants active in the same area or adjacent to these rooms on the outside of the building, I’d employ some of the materials we have listed in our article to insure the problem doesn’t get worse.
Phantom: http://www.bugspray.com/item/phantom_aerosol.html
Carpenter Ant Control: https://www.carpenterants.com/carpenter-ant-control
guest says
I have found big black ants with clear wings dead on my kitchen floor and by my front entrance door. I have found live ones crawling on my TV screen in the family room. My husband saw some in the grass outside. Today I found three dead ones by my baseboards in the family room hallway. What are they? How do I find out where their nest is? How do I kill them? Please help me out with this problem. I am always looking on the ground for them.
admin says
You most likely have carpenter ants. You can read all about them in our full length article. In the article we cover how to find nests and treat the problem. Here’s the link:
https://www.carpenterants.com/carpenter-ant-control
guest says
I find a large black ant or two every now and then. I find them in my first floor family room which is all wood walls and in my upstairs bedroom which has plaster walls. I have not seen any sawdust. I have also found them on me and that scares me. What can I do? Are they carpenter ants? A few years ago I had the exterminator to spray for carpenter ants because there was a nest in the roof which was found when the roof was being replaced. Do you think they have come back again?
admin says
If you read our Carpenter Ant Control article, you’ll learn that these ants can cover a large area and once active on a property they will many times persist until all their local nests are destroyed. Unless the service that treated some time ago got all these “local” nests, it’s quite possible there are new ants that have found your home. These guys could very well be in the process of setting up new pathways/trails or worse yet, new nests. I suggest you either hire another service or get some of the products in our article and start doing some outside treating of your own. Based on what you reported above, it’s entirely possible they’ve only begun to get back inside so you might get lucky and knock them out with some perimeter treatments alone. And the best product for the job would be either the Termidor or Phantom mentioned in our article. Slow working and sure to get the nest once ants come in contact with either, these “new generation” products can have a big impact on carpenter ants without you having to know where the nest is located. Here are direct links to these in our cart:
Termidor: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/termidor-sc-20-oz
Phantom: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/phantom-21-oz