Carpenter ants begin their galleries in softer springwood, later creating wider galleries that may contain ant eggs or larvae. Where termite-damaged wood may look messy, carpenter ant-damaged wood has smooth, clean galleries without any wood particles or soil. If you break into a piece of wood that still has termites present, you may see worker termites running away and soldier termites with large mandibles running toward the intruder (you). Dried “mud” inside the damaged area is an indicator of termites but it is not always obvious. Termites tend to eat the softer layers of the wood, leaving the harder wood and a honeycomb appearance. In most cases, our eastern termites nest outside in the ground and travel to their wood food site through soil or mud tubes that they have constructed. Their food, as for most ants, is dead or dying insects, seeds, and maybe people food. Carpenter ants, on the other hand, do not feed on the wood but they do tunnel in the wood, hollowing out smooth galleries for nest sites. If you probe into or break open a section of insect-damaged wood:Īn important tip is that termites actually feed on and ingest the wood, leaving behind some fecal evidence that is a muddy slurry of digested wood, saliva, and soil layered into the wood. A piece of baseboard or other wood, even if painted, may look normal, maybe showing only a slight blistering on the surface. Insects that are feeding or tunneling inside a piece of wood in a structure rarely betray their presence on the wood exterior. Carpenter ant and termite damage are not always as easy to tell apart, especially without breaking into the wood. Wood decay can usually be ruled out, or ruled in, pretty easily due to certain characteristics of the fungi that cause the rot. All of these wood pests prefer wood that has been softened by high wood moisture levels. If the wood is damp or the area has had water damage in the past, the list can usually be narrowed down to wood rot, or carpenter ants, or subterranean termites. Most homeowners can probably point to a section of damaged wood in their home but the question might remain, which pest caused the damage? And what needs to be done about it? Two of the main wood-damaging insects in our region are active right now: carpenter ants and subterranean termites. TELLING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CARPENTER ANT AND TERMITE DAMAGE By Zachary Ciras on October 19, 2020.
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