Is this a termite or an ant?

April 18, 2008 4:55 PM

Is this an ant, or a termite? Photo inside.

After paying to replace a lot of (old) termite damage, I've become paranoid. Tonight, I saw about 50 of these buggers crawling on the outside of my house.

All of the indicators say this is an ant (three-part body, inward-facing antennae), but help me get a good night's sleep MeFi exterminators.

A photo of the insect in question.

This is an ant, with wings, right?

posted by timwindsor to home & garden (13 comments total)

Yep. Looks like a carpenter ant; they are very common, especially if you're in Florida.
I swear by a brand of insecticide called Terro to take care of my house. I spray and use the granules about every 4 months or so. Google to confirm and get more ideas on how to kill them.
posted by willmize at 4:59 PM on April 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

Based on this image, I would assume it's an ant.
posted by disaster77 at 5:01 PM on April 18, 2008

Your termite damage was probably caused by carpenter ants.
posted by winston at 5:09 PM on April 18, 2008

looks like an ant.

but i'm fond of your filename: antihope.jpg

what you got against hope??
posted by blastrid at 5:40 PM on April 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

Those are carpenter ants.

The bad news is that carpenter ants are extremely hard to get rid of. If you replaced "termite damage" and the ants are still swarming your house, you probably still have an infestation.
posted by b1tr0t at 6:06 PM on April 18, 2008

That's an ant.

You still want to get rid of them, btw.
posted by konolia at 6:17 PM on April 18, 2008

Comparison of winged termites and ants. (or google yourself)

They really look nothing alike:
Termite: Fat waist and four equal-length wings.
Ant: Slim waist and 2 big wings, 2 small wings.

On the other hand, both termites and carpenter ants can turn wood into swiss cheese you can stick your finger through. There is no living with them. Get help.
posted by hexatron at 6:20 PM on April 18, 2008

Another good link here.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 6:31 PM on April 18, 2008

@ blastrid - Yeah, I noticed that after I named it and thought it was a nice ironic accident, so left it. If it's not obvious, it's "ant I hope."

The old damage was clearly termite, according to the exterminator we had in to examine what we found and treat the house and yard. It had the characteristic tunnels and leftover, well, wood poop. According to what I've been able to find about carpenter ants, they tunnel, but they don't digest it like termites.

But definitely worth having the man with the giant spray can come back for a second look. Because any insect with the first name of "carpenter" is probably not my house's friend.

Thanks hive!
posted by timwindsor at 6:39 PM on April 18, 2008

Thermite, or maybe a low-megaton nuke *might* get rid of them.
posted by b1tr0t at 6:46 PM on April 18, 2008

According to what I've been able to find about carpenter ants, they tunnel, but they don't digest it like termites.

Yes. So you'll often find piles of sawdust at the entrances to their tunnels.
posted by winston at 7:05 PM on April 18, 2008

I think I remember this from an entomology class...and the slim waist of the ant is the most obvious characteristic....as mentioned above.
posted by pilibeen at 8:34 PM on April 18, 2008

The slim waist of the ant is called a "gaster" and reflects the fact that they evolved from parasitic wasps. Termites don't have this anatomical feature, and in fact share a common ancestor with cockroaches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_carpenter_ant
posted by singingfish at 1:45 AM on April 19, 2008