Carpenter ants are one of the most destructive pests a homeowner can encounter. Unlike termites, they do not eat wood for nutrition — instead, they chew smooth galleries through it to create nesting space, favoring damp or decaying areas around windows, roof lines, and bathrooms before spreading into sound structural timber.
Signs of an infestation include small piles of sawdust-like "frass" beneath baseboards or window sills, faint rustling sounds inside walls at night, and winged swarmers appearing indoors in spring. Because a mature colony can have satellite nests scattered through a structure, a professional inspection is usually needed to trace the problem back to the parent colony and treat it at the source.