The greatest concern however, is that they may cause serious damage to wood in the structure. Unlike termites, they do not feed upon wood, but merely use it as a place to nest. Carpenter ants construct their nests in hollow trees, logs, posts, landscaping timbers and wood used in homes and other structures. These ants prefer to infest wood that is moist and rotting. Nests may be located in hollow doors or small void areas produced during construction.
Carpenter ants keep occupied galleries clean.
They push sawdust out small holes in wood. This often results in a cone-shaped pile accumulating just below the nest entrance hole. This pile may include, in addition the wood fragments, other debris from the nest, including bits of soil, dead ants, parts of insects and remnants of other foods they ate. The secret to controlling carpenter ants is direct treatment of the nest. Because worker ants move from the nest to forage for food, their movements may lead to your discovery of the nest opening.