Are carpenter ants really dangerous?
As some of you know, I have a decent sized carpenter ant (Camponotus modoc) colony in the backyard of my house. Someday I’ll probably have to get rid of it when we want to sell the place, but for now it has provided some interesting photographs.
Over the weekend I found them active as usual once I picked up a few pieces of wood. Under one piece I found some that were quite large – probably among the largest ones I have seen. This got me to thinking, how dangerous are these guys (or in truth – ‘gals’) really?
Although they are greatly feared by Western homeowners, this colony has lived in my backyard for at least the last seven years and I have never seen a trace of them in my home. After reading a bit about them, I even went outside late at night a few times to see if I could find any activity. As they are nocturnal, that is the best time to see what they are up to.
There are a number of precautions that you can take to minimize the possibility of damage.
- There are several chemicals that you can spray around the perimeter of your home. As ants go on scents, there is a good deal of evidence that they can be effective.
- Make sure no plants touch your house. This is the easiest way for them to get access to your home.
Supposedly these ants can bite, though I have not put my finger out to test this out. They certainly look the part, but for the most part are quite docile. I have sat down with them crawling around me and have never once been bitten.
It will be a sad day when I eventually have to get rid of the colony, as though I certainly don’t mind them someone else will likely differ.
No related posts.
Tags: carpenter ant, danger, housing, macro, photography
You got some interesting pictures here and really weird points of a sad day when removing them. Funny though, your house is also not affected.
Just wondering if you allow me to reproduce your article over at my blog. Of course, I will credit back you.
Michael.
I have hundreds if not thousands of carpenter ants roaming outside and inside my home. I really do not mind them as they aren’t causing any notable damage right now.
My property is infested with big and small carpenter ants and from my experience, carpenter ants are harmless. I used to pick up these ants and observe their behavior on a human (me). These ants use their antenna a lot on me and crawl around my arm. I’m assuming they are smelling me. If you aggravate an ant by touching it, the ant will bite you. It is not painful but you can definitely feel it.