My favorite wood destroying organism has to be the Moisture Ant–at least in our area.
A distant second would possibly be the Subterranean Termite–but they are destructive enough that there really is not too much to like about them. Their mud tubes are amazing and can be quite delicate running from the crawl space floor to the wood joists above. If we were to make a similar tube proportional to our size, out of dirt and “frass,” it would likely be quite an engineering undertaking.
But back to Moisture Ants. The structures (called “carton”) that moisture ants build, out of the materials available to them, are really quite remarkable. They like to build in wet areas and are typically not interested in your house unless you have a leak somewhere. For example a drain that is leaking just a few drops is a great opportunity for the ants to build a nest around the leak. The nest’s moisture is maintained by the leak and is extended further and further until the nest is large enough to soak up the entire leak if possible.
I have seen nests where the Moisture Ants were managing the leak so well that the leak never presented itself at the interior of the house at all. You would never have even known they were there until something else went wrong that caused you to discover the nest–like seeing ants running around the interior of the home. As the wet nest comes in contact with wood, it makes the wood wet. As the wood decays it becomes additional nesting materials for the moisture ants.
So you can see, these guys, while being considered a wood destroying organism, only destroy wood because there was water damaged wood to begin with. They are opportunistic, and should not be considered a primary wood destroying organism. In other words the original leaking problem is the primary problem and when that is fixed so will the ants. They may have done some damage to the wood that was covered by their nest structures, so this damage will also need to be repaired—in conjunction with fixing the leak. Generally the damage is fairly localized.
One would NOT want to treat the home for Ants without knowing why they are there.
They can be a nuisance about the home and seeing them around may be the first indication that there is a leak somewhere.
It is not uncommon to find abandoned Moisture Ant structures where the leaks were fixed but nobody knew the ants were even there–or didn’t know what they were. Sometimes the leaks are seasonal and the ants come and go with those seasons.
The picture below is of a moisture ant nest behind a baseboard wall heater. The beautiful carton material was made out of the cellulose fiber insulation installed in the wall as well as decaying wood. This nest was abandoned and was only found when the wall heater was removed.
With the carton material removed we can see how the wet nest caused decay in the wood sheathing and the ants were then able to tunnel and use the wood material for extending their nest. If you look close you can see the “light” of outdoors where the wood has been damaged all the way through the sheathing and siding.
As you can see Moisture Ants are builders extraordinaire–and not your typical wood destroying organism.
Below is a video of Moisture Ants scurrying about to relocate their eggs when exposed after removing the bark on a log they were under—a nice moist environment.
By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle
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Tuesday morning quarterly pest control was done. Tuesday afternoon notice ants with wings and tiny ants in bathroom. The past couple of days have found winged ones crawling on bedroom side of home. Where do we start plumber or carpenter? Thank you.
I would start with a Pest Control company—but a different one than has been doing the quarterly treatments.
Hi Charles,
I’m in the process of buying a home in Florence, Oregon on the coast. I spotted this on the windowsill – at first I thought it was dirt from a potted plant, but then realized it may be from termites. I’ve been researching it and think it may be from moisture ants. There was a tiny insect in early stage that was moving. The wood siding has some contact with the ground and the piece of vertical siding on the exterior wall below this sill appears to be rotted/damaged. The other pieces seem fine. By the look of the frass, do you think this is termites or moisture ants or something else? I’m unable to upload the image, so I’ll try emailing it instead.
Thank you so much!
Barbara
Hi Charles,
I own this building, in the kitchen of the storefront, ground level space, I’ve had moisture swarmers for the past 2 summers. I finally took the sink cabinet out and found the nests, but no ants present. The wood was dry but looks like it has been wet before. There is a clean out pipe (see photo), and another pipe that both go into the slab. Are the ants under the slab? And is the a way to reach them or dry out under the slab? I live in Washington state. Thanks
Bruce
Do you have any pictures of the nest or critters? Typically with Moisture Ants they are only going to be around if moisture levels are high enough. This can be from recurring plumbing leaks or seasonal etc. Typically fixing leaks and keeping woodwork dry is all that is necessary.
Please help identify these insects…. Orkin has been useless… thank you
I would need to see actual samples likely to figure out who they are. Cannot tell from your picture. Any reputable pest control company should be able to tell what they are.
Mud tunnels tunnels under structure… Orkin took pictures and two employees different in opinions… one say harmless ants… one says tunnels from cicadas
Where are you located? The tubes looks like subterranean termites—I do not know of any ant, at least in my area, that makes tubes like that.
SOS! My husband & I recently bought our first home & had two inspections done, one specifically for moisture, before we signed. I was sitting on the living room floor & all of a sudden my hand was covered in ants. I tracked them outside & they were pretty much surrounding the exterior, a quarter way up. I promptly started baiting inside & outside & have found them in very specific locations. Bait can go untouched & when moved 12 inches further, causes a swarm.
Baits have now been successful in the garage, going up & down one cupboard in the kitchen, coming through the light fixture on an outer wall in the master, maybe 10 total in the master bedroom but only 1-2 at a time, & out from under the bathtub that I’ve used maybe 3 times to bathe our small dog.
I resist the urge to kill them & after a few days they do stop appearing in that location. We had Orkin come out & they actually said they had no concerns. I’ve been googling these stupid things trying to self educate but I’m really concerned, in addition to the general disgusting nature & bacteria they carry, that we bought ourselves a home with a termite issue. Since they’re appearing in rooms all around the house I don’t know where to start checking for moisture. Especially discouraging since none was found during the inspections.
Can you confirm what these dang things are. I can’t tell if they have one node or two, let alone the other features used in any keys. I can however say, they do not emit an odor when crushed. Can we just bug bomb our house, attic, & crawl space?
Those look like common household ants. Not wood destroying. Can be difficult to manage but a good Pest Control Company should be able to treat.
TO: Vicky Golden and Britta Baca
RE: pics posted
Based on their relative size and disturbed nest’s ant dispersion pattern:
Carpenter Ants: Specifically hard to kill if stepped on over ground. The Carpenter Ants come in golden brown and black varities with 2 bent antenna. Heads are very hard. I always wear gloves with a solid vinyl palm & undersides of all fingers + all tips covered. These unusually large ants do not sting but they have powerful pincers of the mouth. The occasionally latch onto the underside of right hand when glove’s vinyl surface has rubbed down. I have been actively tracking them nearly every night for at least 5 months. No, I do not get out often. I have a 30 gallon plastic drum used to catch rain water which I in turn have repurposed about 30x 1 gallon HDPE plastic milk jugs to which I add the rainwater (better than hose because it has a lower surface tension” along with 2x OR 3x squirts of dawn+ blue dishwashing liquid from a body wash plastic pump container per gallon. It’s really a PITA to get the water out of the 30 gallon bucket into a 5 gallon bucket where I can get 3x 1 gallon buckets filled at a time. However I use this mainly for fire ant mounds. Using a sturdy pointed poking pole to ensure the soapy water saturates the nest. I have used/tried several ant poisons (i have an add that make me read entire directions label) but none have ever worked for me . Around 1997 I was living SE of Shreveport, LA on a couple of acres and there was a drought that resulted in the fire ant population dying. They placed the bodies in approx. 3 inch circles of which were in a hexagonal pattern (make me think of cell phone towers.) But that was when I mixed some laundry detergent with 5 gallons of water & filled a mound that was at least 24 inches across. A couple of days later I checked and they were performing the same burial ritual. Dead ants! The only thing I have ever used that left proof. The carpenter ants won’t like the soap either. However from what I have read recently their suggested formula is much stronger 2:1 water to dawn but they are using a spray bottle for application to kill a few… not a nest at the base of your oak tree. I alternate between the dawn/water and my weed burner (propane flame thrower – Lincoln brand, connected to 20# propane tank mounted to old lawn mower deck and the wire safety (gotta hold to keep it running handle) is used to hold the weed burner for lighting and for holding; so hands free as needed. Good luck with the carpenter ants. bb