Signs of Carpenter Ants in the House (and What They Mean)

Carpenter ant damage looks like smooth, clean tunnels inside the wood, almost as if it was sanded, with small slit openings on the surface. Nearby you'll usually find piles of fine shavings called frass. Termite damage, by contrast, is packed with mud and soil, and simple rot is soft and crumbly with no tunnels at all.

No, one carpenter ant doesn't always mean an infestation. In summer, workers forage long distances and may wander in from a tree or stump outside. Several ants indoors most nights, ants inside in late winter, winged ants inside or any frass are stronger signs that a nest is in or attached to the house.

Yes, sometimes you can hear carpenter ants in the walls. With a large nest, people describe a faint rustling or crinkling sound, like crumpling cellophane, especially at night when the house is quiet. Tapping the wall can make it louder for a moment. Hearing it means the nest is likely right there and worth an inspection.

In New Jersey, carpenter ants are most active from spring through summer, with winged swarmers usually seen in spring. Activity drops outdoors in fall and winter. If you see carpenter ants indoors during winter or very early spring, that usually points to a nest inside the heated part of the house.

Carpenter ant frass looks like coarse sawdust or pencil shavings, light tan to white, piled in small cones. It often contains bits of dead ants and insect parts, which is a key clue. It shows up below the spot where ants are pushing debris out of their galleries, like under a window frame, baseboard or deck board.

Carpenter ants have a pinched waist, bent antennae and, when winged, front wings longer than the back ones. Termites have a thick waist, straight antennae and four equal wings. Carpenter ants leave sawdust piles; termites leave mud tubes and soil-packed wood. When in doubt, text us a photo and we'll tell you.

Carpenter ants aren't dangerous to people. They can give a pinch if handled, but they don't sting and aren't known to spread disease. The concern is the house: a colony nesting in wet wood for years can hollow out window frames, sills, decks and framing, which is why it's worth stopping them early.

Often, yes. Carpenter ants prefer wood that's damp or already softened, so an indoor nest usually sits near a leak — a window, roof edge, bathroom, dishwasher line or gutter that overflows. Finding the moisture is part of solving the problem, and fixing it makes the house much less attractive to future colonies.

Call if you see frass, winged ants indoors, ants inside in winter, or nightly trails that don't stop. Those signs usually mean the nest is in the house, and store sprays rarely reach it. We serve Bergen, Passaic, Essex and Hudson counties from Garfield, quotes are free, and you can text a photo first.

Hormigas negras grandes dentro de la casa, montoncitos de aserrín, hormigas con alas en primavera y ruidos en las paredes de noche. Mande una foto al 973-510-2585 — hablamos español.