Carpenter ants are the most common pest ant seen in homes. The main colony must have a constant source of moisture to survive, so it is usually located in dead wood outside. This includes dead limbs, tree holes, stumps, landscape timbers, and so forth. Indoors, a main colony will have to be associated with a water leak or an overly wet, poorly ventilated crawl space or attic.The main colony may establish satellite colonies that are the primary source of ant activity inside homes.These satellite colonies may be located in any suitable void (e.g., hollow doors, curtain rods, shower rods), under attic insultation, etc.These ants set up trunk trails between the main colony to satellite colonies and between satellite colonies. Foraging ants can most easily be seen along these trunk trails at night when the ants are most active. Sometimes, the trunk trails occur beneath the ground following tree roots. |