The carpenter ant is one of the largest ants of all types of ants. Queens can grow to over an inch in size. Carpenter ants make their nests in wood, where they chew their way into the wood and make tunnels to live inside. You will see saw dust from where the carpenter ants have started to build their home. Carpenter ants do not eat wood; they chew away at the wood to live inside. Carpenter ants DO bite.If they can chew through wood, they can chew through you. A carpenter ant colony has over 2600 workers. 200-400 winged ants develop over the summer, remain in the nest through the winter, and leave the nest in the spring. Mating occurs during a brief flight, after which the male dies and the queen removes her wings and searches for a suitable nesting place. Development from egg to worker usually takes about 60 days. Carpenter ants have been known to travel over 300 feet in any direction to form satellite nests. A moist piece of wood in or near your house will do nicely. Once a nest is formed in your home, you will see the foraging workers searching for food.

These types of ants do not cause damage as carpenter ants, and are mainly a nuisance and should be taken care of before the problem is out of hand. Some of these ants can cause damage if the problem is not taken care of properly. These ants can start nesting in old wood damage areas, or in areas with old insect damage.