Will Carpenter Ants Eat Treated Wood?

Carpenter ants usually nest inside the wood and, although they prefer rotten and soft wood, they adapt to any type of wood and you can find them in your attic. Ants in attic can cause many issues since they can build colony there. Carpenter ants can also nest in mulch and knowing how to get rid of them is essential. In some cases, in the most serious infestations, the carpenter ants can endanger the structural integrity of a room or the entire home. 

But No. In general, carpenter ants do not eat any type of wood, they are not like termites. They don’t eat wood for the simple reason that they can’t digest cellulose, but they can still damage it.

Treated wood is nothing but wood treated with chemicals in order to lengthen its normal life cycle. This is a treatment used to make wood resistant to mold, fungi, structural degrade, marine organisms, termites and flames, but not for carpenter ants. This means that even if these parasites prefer rotten or damp wood, over time they can also make their way into treated wood.

Despite this, it is still a more resistant wood and therefore it will keep the carpenter ants a little longer. This type of ants, in fact, love soft and rotten woods, much simpler to dig and in which it is easier to create nests. Not surprisingly, if they infest a home, they often also nest in the insulating foam, which is soft and easy to destroy for them. For this reason, as soon as you have the impression that you can be infested with these insects, you must call our ant extermination services.

Despite the preference of carpenter ants for softer wood, this does not mean that treated wood is immune to carpenter ants. Not so much because the treated wood is not specifically created to protect itself from these parasites, but because it is wood, despite being a little more resistant than normal wood. If in contact with humidity, if you do not carry out maintenance or if the infestation is massive, it will be very simple that even the treated wood will fall victim to the carpenter ants and become a comfortable place to nest.

As a result, unless you periodically treat the treated wood or unless it is away from the ground and moisture, this type of wood too may soon become a victim of carpenter ants. Especially if it is outside, therefore I export to the atmospheric agents and is destined to be damaged more quickly.

In summary, even if you only have treated wood at home, we must not feel 100% protected from carpenter ants. If you have any suspicions, it is best to call a professional Pest Control Toronto for ant extermination service, at least every four or five years to have your home checked and be certain that your wood is not infested.