Is it carpenter ants or termites? We are continuing the pest theme this month, and while not very pleasant to think about, one of the most damaging threats that could exist for your home, especially structurally, are pests and insects. Some insects work silently, however, and escape your notice until they’ve already caused a lot of damage to the structure of your home.
The most common perpetrators to damaging a wooden structure could be termites or carpenter ants. If you have found evidence that either of these insects has infested your home, you most likely need to identify which of these insects it is. If you have never seen any of the two types of these “home destroying bugs” how can you identify which one is in your home?
Three distinguishing characteristics to tell them apart.
First, ants have a tapered in body type giving the appearance that they have a thin waist, whereas the body of a termite isn’t constricted.
Secondly, if the insect has wings, which may not always be the case, an ants front wings are bigger than its rear ones, but the termite’s wings are about the same size.
A third distinguishing mark is the antennae, the ants can bend while the termite’s antennae do not.
Yes, you need to be on guard against these potential threats to your home and identifying what they actually are maybe the first step.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule an inspection, please feel free to give us a call here at Staffordshire Home Advisors.
