Carpenter ants are a frustrating infestation to have, they can multiply incredibly fast and make colonies all over your house, how can you get rid of them and when are they active? We know that carpenter ants are active for most of the year, spring, summer and fall. But what happens to the ants when the winter arrives. Do carpenter ants hibernate? How do they survive the cold winter? They do it often by living in a human’s home. The residual heat from the HVAC system is more than enough to keep the ants warm enough to continue being active all winter. This gives them more chances to breed and more chances to forage and find food in your home and an extended amount of time to build their nest ever deeper into your house. If your house is made of wood, especially if it is a century home, the damage a carpenter ant colony left unchecked can do is shocking. Your house could be a write-off in just a few years. If the ants carve through enough wood to endanger the structural integrity of the home then the local government will have to remove you and demolish the house. Carpenter ants being allowed to work year-round in the warmth of a home is an especially dangerous situation.
What happens if the ants are not in a house and live outside in a nest in an old log or a pile of wood or garden mulch. Well if they don’t have enough heat then the ants can’t function. Their bodies are made up of a firm shell called a carapace but their internal organs are not like humans and are not localized. Ants breathe through thousand of capillaries that fill their bodies that draw oxygen to the inner organelles. These are not organs like a mammal would have but are free-floating cells that interact with the body in a more open way which is why they can lose limbs and continue to function. Their bodies are not so connected like a mammal’s body is. Because of this, the fluid in their bodies has no heat protection. They cannot be their heat source and will slowly freeze in the winter. If they have a nest they can survive by sealing it up. They will become slow and lethargic and sleep for as long as possible and feed on their food stores built up over the rest of the year.
Carpenter ants usually start their primary nest on your property but not in your home unless your home has a bad leak that is causing the wood in your house to become unstable and rotten. The ants begin usually in a tree, an old stump or even an old shed. They build their first colony and when that colony matures it produces winged ants, these ants are usually about half male and half female. They find a place that is safe and far from predators, which oftentimes will be in your home by an open window. The males die when mating is finished and the females chew off their wings and find a crack in furniture or a void in the wall to lay their eggs and start an entirely new colony. Your house could be overrun by carpenter ants in a matter of days and you may not notice for years.
