How to Identify a Carpenter Ant Queen

How to Identify a Carpenter Ant Queen

Carpenter ants are fascinating little creatures. The carpenter queen measures about 2 cm in length, and depending on the type of carpenter ant, they can be yellow-red, dark brown, or black. After mating with the carpenter ant, the queen loses her wings by shedding them. The queen carpenter ant prefers damp and rotten wood to establish the new colony. After finding a nesting site,  she then locks herself inside one of her chambers hidden deep inside the network until she has about 10 to 17 eggs that develop into full-grown adults. It is best to contact professional carpenter ant exterminator Toronto in the Greater Toronto Area to declare your home ant-free as soon as possible!

The carpenter ant queen uses fat reserves to nourish her young until they become full-grown workers. The journey from egg to adult usually takes a month or two. Carpenter ants expand their nest by digging through wood with the help of the mandibles and spew it out. Typically, the firstborn workers are smaller in size because they are fed from the carpenter ant queen’s fluid. As generations go on, they become much larger in size and much stronger. 

The interesting fact about carpenter ants is that a colony can have multiple queens, as opposed to the normal pavement ant who usually has one colony and one queen. The carpenter ant has a complex network of tunnels and hierarchies. The queen can be identified by being the largest in the colony. The reason why carpenter ants are so difficult to control is that carpenter ants usually have multiple colonies. These colonies are usually subdivided into the parent and the satellite colony. The satellite colony can be mostly found in dryer environments and establish in hollow doors,  insulation, holes, crevices, or foundational gaps. When you happen to see ants during the day, they are usually foraging for food. Since carpenter ants are mostly nocturnal, they are hard to spot. That is why it is recommended to hire a professional pest control service based in the Greater Toronto Area as technicians have many years of experience dealing with similar cases. They can get to the issue fast and easy!

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread,  people have taken measures to practice social-distancing. We at The Exterminators – Pest Control Toronto have taken it upon us to make you feel at ease. For ant treatments we do not use any toxic chemicals that will need anybody to leave their house. Additionally upon request we will wear protective suits to make you feel at ease.

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