Carpenter ants are commonly found nesting in wood. Typically the wood attacked is decaying and contains considerable moisture, or may be weakened by fungi.
Carpenter ants are capable of attacking sound wood and often nest in living trees.
The wood is not eaten by these ants, rather it is deposited outside the nest. The piles of sawdust called frass are common at the bottom of tree holes and at the base of nest openings in an infested house. The galleries formed by carpenter ants are smooth and free of debris. In recent years, carpenter ants have discovered that the foam elements used in building construction all over Alaska is easier to excavate to create nesting sites. Once you determine that carpenter ants are nesting in your house or you are seeing many foraging ants frequenting your kitchen or other areas of your home, an inspection by IPM of Alaska is warranted.