Carpenter Ants & Wood-Boring Insects Field Guide

Everything that damages structural wood without being a termite. Across the northern half of North America the insect most likely to be chewing through your house is an ant — and treating it like a termite wastes a season.

What's inside

• Start from the debris: an eight-row identification table that works back from what you found on the floor
• Carpenter ants — recognition, finding the parent and satellite nests, and why treating trails achieves nothing
• The moisture rule, and the four building faults behind most indoor nests
• Wood-boring beetles: lyctid, anobiid, old house borer, bostrichid and ambrosia, compared side by side
• How to tell whether a beetle infestation is still active
• Carpenter bees, and why plugging an untreated gallery makes things worse
• Seasonal behaviour — when each organism is visible and when it is effectively invisible
• Structural significance: four damage classes and the repair response each one calls for
• A frank note on what homeowner insurance does and does not cover
• Do-it-yourself versus professional, decided by access and structure rather than difficulty
• A printable field identification checklist

Who it's for

Homeowners who found sawdust, shavings, holes or large black ants and need to know what made them before spending anything.

Format

• PDF, A4, 6 pages
• Instant digital download — no shipping
• Printable checklist included
• Written for homeowners in the United States and Canada

This guide is educational reference material. It is not a substitute for a licensed inspection or professional treatment. Always read and follow the label of any product you use.