carpenter ants!

[BucksCoBernie]

well i was pulling some year old splits out of the wood shed to resplit into skinnier pieces and came across these 2 pieces covered in carpenter ants. they were immediately put inside the fire pit and torched. nothing like this is ever getting close to inside my house haha. The good thing is these are the only 2 pieces ive had a problem with so far.

 

[smokinj]

When doing large tree's almost everone has them

 

[Dix]

Quickest wood ever dried by me, courtesy of the carpenter ants.

I have 3 more trees just like it :coolsmirk:

 

[fossil]

Pretty tough to tell from the pics, and I know there are different kinds...but those don't look like the carpenter ants with which I'm familiar. The ones I know are big...like 3/8"-1/2" in length, and they don't colonize in an exposed surface, they go deep inside the wood, chewing elaborate labyrinths with tunnels and chambers. They don't survive long without a source of moisture nearby. Once a round containing a colony is split open and left to season, the ants disperse. Maybe you have a different kind, or maybe I can't really judge the scale from the pic, I dunno. Rick

 

[rdust]

Pretty tough to tell from the pics, and I know there are different kinds...but those don't look like the carpenter ants with which I'm familiar. The ones I know are big...like 3/8"-1/2" in length, and they don't colonize in an exposed surface, they go deep inside the wood, chewing elaborate labyrinths with tunnels and chambers. They don't survive long without a source of moisture nearby. Once a round containing a colony is split open and left to season, the ants disperse. Maybe you have a different kind, or maybe I can't really judge the scale from the pic, I dunno. Rick

x2, I was thinking the same thing.

 

['bert]

I hope this is true for all boring ants. I had 2 trees of late that I cut down that had ants in them. Put the wood into the outside fire burn pile. If the ants will leave and not infect the rest of the wood I would move the wood back to my standard firewood pile. So will the ants move off for sure?

 

[Tony H]

Around here most of the standing dead trees have some ants feasting on them carpenter ants are pretty large and can be brown of black. The ants leave a bunch of sawdust as they work. The other pest in the wood is termites smaller and kind of clear / white / brown depending on the wood they are in. they will leave a mud trail tunnel on the exposed wood surface .

 

[BucksCoBernie]

Pretty tough to tell from the pics, and I know there are different kinds...but those don't look like the carpenter ants with which I'm familiar. The ones I know are big...like 3/8"-1/2" in length, and they don't colonize in an exposed surface, they go deep inside the wood, chewing elaborate labyrinths with tunnels and chambers. They don't survive long without a source of moisture nearby. Once a round containing a colony is split open and left to season, the ants disperse. Maybe you have a different kind, or maybe I can't really judge the scale from the pic, I dunno. Rick

I always thought the little ants were carpenter ants because thats normally what i see on logs and wood splits but after googling some pics of carpenter ants I would agree and say that these arent carpenter ants. some of the little ants had wings, some didnt. maybe termites?

 

[billb3]

I've seen ants like that in logs left uncut. Pine and oak.
Have only seen them in horizontal logs, though.
Not in rounds or split pieces, either.

Carpenter ants are bigger and have colonies of 10 to 30. There can be thousands of little cluster colonies in a living oak tree.
I've seen one or two colonies chisel out a little hollow in two tght splits in a stack, but they move so slow in Winter you can step on or crush them. I've seen them chisel a little hollow betweenn two sheets of plywood stacked outside having cut thier oak tree home down.

 

[gzecc]

Their not termites. Termites are ground dwelling (never seeing the light of day) insects. They have no pigment or eyes for seeing in the light of day. Those are not termites or carpenter ants we have in the northeast. My concern might be why are they there? Is the shed old and sitting on the dirt? Is it pressure treated or not. Have you been smearing peanut butter on your splits again?

 

[ATVriderINmass]

Look really really close ...If they have a tool belt on they are carpenter ants...

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I agree with fossil. I also agree with FJLayes625.

 

[OpenWater]

Yah, I agree with fossil and some others. The behanvior of the ants in the picture suggests a differnet species of ant, though not seeing them live, it is tough to say definitively. I've got a new log home and I boarder on paranoia when it comes to carpenter ants. From my understansing, the ants can cause considerable damage, but it takes a while for that to happen.

Check out http://www.carpenterants.com/ to be sure. Tons of information there. If you find you do have caprenter ants around your property, I encourage you to watch them closely to see what they are up to. They are probably foraging around your house, and may pop up inside your house, but if you see trailing (evening hours most common) then you could have a nest somewhere in your home. Just my .02 cents, and probably more information than you need, but after researching these things for the better part of the last few months, I've got some information to give away.

Chris

 

[Bubbavh]

Yah, I agree with fossil and some others. The behanvior of the ants in the picture suggests a differnet species of ant, though not seeing them live, it is tough to say definitively. I've got a new log home and I boarder on paranoia when it comes to carpenter ants. From my understansing, the ants can cause considerable damage, but it takes a while for that to happen.
Check out http://www.carpenterants.com/ to be sure. Tons of information there. If you find you do have caprenter ants around your property, I encourage you to watch them closely to see what they are up to. They are probably foraging around your house, and may pop up inside your house, but if you see trailing (evening hours most common) then you could have a nest somewhere in your home. Just my .02 cents, and probably more information than you need, but after researching these things for the better part of the last few months, I've got some information to give away.

Chris

It doesn't take them as long as you think

I like to use my stove ashes and spread them around the perimeter of the house against the foundation. Ants hate powder it sticks to them and they do not like it so they go elsewhere. Salt also works to kill them... they love the salt so much they can not stop eating it, then they get thirsty and drink themselves to death

 

[gzecc]

"will work for wod" How do you know so much about ants. Are you a scientist or just stay at a Holiday Inn last night?
What is "wod" anyway? Or is that Wool?

 

[LLigetfa]

Maybe a variant for wad as in wad of cash.

 

[iceman]

well he said he was pulling them out to resplit so you wouldnt think it was ants .. but the picture looks like ants holding on to the white eggs...... but then some look like they have wings ...... but more than likely its ants and there could be some other problem over there

 

[fossil]

Their not termites. Termites are ground dwelling (never seeing the light of day) insects. They have no pigment or eyes for seeing in the light of day. Those are not termites or carpenter ants we have in the northeast. My concern might be why are they there? Is the shed old and sitting on the dirt? Is it pressure treated or not. Have you been smearing peanut butter on your splits again?

What you're describing are subterranean termites. There are lots of other kinds. Drywood termites never live below ground. Could be that's what these are. Both termites and some kinds of ants have winged versions that swarm to start new colonies at some time of the year...even subterranean termites do this. Rick

 

[gzecc]

Fossil, Luclily for us in the northeast, we don't get the drywood termites only the subterranean.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

Whether large or small, the difference between ants and termites is their 'waists'. Ants always have a very skinny, pinched area above their abdomens. Termites are more chunky and cylindrical in the 'waist' area. Both have winged ones, so the waist is how to tell the difference. I've seen several types of ants on my lot, including the carpenter types. I have seen some winged ones a few times recently. It is not only carpenter types who love to tunnel in wood. I have several ant types here that do that. Oh, and I agree with the previous comment that the carpenters are bigger sized.

 

[rphurley]

I've never had a problem of ants in my seasoned firewood. Sometimes a beetle reconstitutes itself when the wood is warmed up. I'd just throw them someplace for a day or two and place them on my woodpile if they are gone when I return. I bet they are the same small ants that you find when you move a big rock or something else that has been lying on the ground for awhile.