Carpenter or Carpenter Ant? Check your Frass
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When evaluating homes for structural pests such as Carpenter Ants, Termites or Anobiid Beetles looking for small details can often be a determinate factor.
As with Carpenter Ants it is often difficult to know if you have just wood shavings from construction or is actually ants doing the damage. One of the tell tale signs is if the wood shaving has body parts in them.
Ants, like other social creatures live in colonies. They receive major benefits working together in the ability to gather food, protect the colony and care for their queen. But living in a large social group has it risk, one of which is disease. As one method of protection for the colony ants will throw out their dead.
This will help control potential epidemics that could be fatal to the colony. In one study they found that mortality of colony double when they were unable to remove the dead.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4126623/
So one way I confirm that I do in fact have Carpenter Ants is I look for body parts in the “Frass”.
Definition of frass: debris or excrement produced by insects
Here is a photo of some Carpenter Ant Frass.
In this next photo I blew up part of the image to show that we have carpenter ant body parts mixed in with the ant frass.
So when you are not sure start digging around into the frass and see what you might find.
If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacturer requirements please let me know.
NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…
Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Real Estate, Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service
Coordinator & Instructor- Fundamentals of Home Inspection- Bellingham Technical College
Former WA Home Inspector Advisory Licensing Board
www.ncwhomeinspections.com 509-670-9572
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