# Found this guy outside my door - Carpenter ant, or some other species?



## tectactoe (Sep 3, 2020)

What do you think?
I'm in SE Michigan, he was about 7-8 mm long. Fell on my hand when I was closing my front door!
Didn't see any others at the time. I do occasionally see ants like this around the outside driveway of the house and on my patio. 
I have unfortunately seen a couple in the house, too. Usually only one at a time, and not often. Maybe once every 3-4 weeks, and only during this summer, starting in April. The few I've seen in the house have varied from this size to HUGE.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

They can be just scouts but now would be a good time, before their numbers increase, to put out some ant bait. I like the Terro but there are some tricks to using it, like don't spray to kill the ants you see. Bait works by killing the queen so you want those scouts to find the bait and carry it back to the colony, be that inside or outside.

Bud


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## tectactoe (Sep 3, 2020)

Okay, I actually have some of the Terro liquid traps, I just haven't used them yet. 

Do you think this is a Carpenter ant for sure, then?


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

Sure looks like one to me. Check to see if it has a nail pouch and tiny hammer loop. 

Bud


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

@tectactoe, nice to meet you!

Though I'm in California now, I lived in Cleveland for a long time, so I'm familiar with the critters and flowers of your neck of the woods, too.

I concur with Bud's comments about the ant bait. I'm pretty sure that's a carpenter ant, even without the nail belt . . . . 

Carpenter ants can be a symptom of rotting or at least near-rotting wood somewhere. I'd take the time and trouble to try and see where such wood might be, if you keep seeing the ants, especially, if you see winged individuals (usually in the spring).

They usually nest in trees that have been dead a while; sometimes they do the same in building timbers. While they're not as destructive as termites (which actually eat the wood) they can still cause structural damage. Or lead to bad wood, which you want to find and fix the easy way instead of the hard way.

If you're in a 'hood full of old houses, especially if they're close together, they might be coming from your neighbors' places.


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