Posted by Shoshana
I’d like to tell you a little story about carpenter ants, camponotus pennsylvanicus. They are the big, ferocious black ones that when you try to kill them it takes a heavy blow from a sledgehammer, maybe two. And when they are smashed, their abdomens go splat, you can actually hear it pop.
We have a slight infestation here at my house. The bug man, Dave, and I have been trying to get rid of them for more than a month, but they are industrious little suckers, and know how to evade even the most potent of poisons Dave sends at them.
The problem is they are nesting somewhere in my roof above my kitchen. They are a bit like termites in that they like to chew wood. When a house becomes a home for these carpenter ants it is serious business. And, like termites,they can cause structural damage.
All this has had me on edge and alarmed. Imagine me at 10 p.m. emptying out my cupbords and putting the contents into the refrigerator while frantically smashing foraging ants by the tens with my flip flop. Keep in mind while you imagine this scenario that I am ridiculously afraid of bugs and get squeamish when I have to kill even a tiny ant. These suckers can be nearly an inch long! And they are fast and durable. Like the cockroach, they have no doubt survived and adapted over the millennia to survive in even the harshest of climates (like Iowa). So, if the world goes up in a ball of smoke due to climate change or armageddon, whatever you may have your chips wagered on, there leaves little doubt in my mind that the carpenter ant will survive through it, and even floursish.
Dave the bug man just left for the fourth or fifth time after he sprayed some toxic gas into our roof. I hope he doesn’t have to come back any time soon. In the meantime, I will be vigilant, flip-flop in hand to attack any lone survivor that dares to forage in my kitchen.
azfree
shebshi
2 responses so far ↓
azfree // July 13, 2009 at 12:57 pm |
I always feel guilty killing bugs, though less guilty when they’re inside my house. As the perpetrator of many an ant genocide, I must say it never gets easier to deal with the guilt. Ants are so organized, you know. They’re like little soldiers.
myrmecos // August 10, 2009 at 12:33 pm |
Unlike termites, though, carpenter ants can’t tunnel in good wood. They require older wood with water damage or dry rot or some other problem to soften it up. So they don’t really cause new problems with your house so much as take existing damage and make it worse.
So if you get ants nesting in your walls it’s an excellent idea to look deeper and see if you’ve got some hidden water damage that’s given them a toe-hold.
And, baits work better than sprays for controlling ants. Be wary of pest control services- some (but not all, of course) are know-nothing scam artists who are happy to take your money with repeated ineffective visits.