While many insects go into hibernation over the cold winter months, they all end up making their appearance known when the cold weather is gone and the warm temperatures start setting in. Even though all of these insects might have a purpose in the environment, that doesn’t mean you want them in your home and creating havoc. Carpenter ants and termites come in and cause all sorts of devastating damage to your home. Their main purpose is to continue reproducing and establishing one colony after another.
Many people have a hard time being able to tell the two insects apart, but there are distinct differences between the two. It is important that you know the differences between the two because the treatment methods used to treat termites isn’t going to be the same as carpenter ants. Thankfully, you can easily determine which one it is that has invaded your home by looking for a few different characteristics.
Do they have straight or bent antennae?
When looking at termites and carpenter ants, you want to look at their antennae. If you see that the antennae are straight, you are more than likely dealing with termites. A carpenter ant tends to have bent antennae. Another thing to look at is the length of the antennae. Termites don’t have near as long of antennae as that of the carpenter ant.
Are the bodies the same width or do they have distinct regions?
Regardless of whether you are dealing with termites or carpenter ants, every insect is going to have three distinct body regions: the abdomen, thorax and head. While all insects might have these three regions, it isn’t always easy to see them. When it comes to the termite, their bodies tend to look more uniform in width. This makes it more difficult to see the three different regions. A carpenter ant is different. If you were to look at their bodies, you could easily see the three different regions. This is one of the other ways you can use to tell the two insects apart.
What do the wings look like?
Both the termites and carpenter ants have two sets of wings. Their sets of wings are close to one another making it look like they have four wings all in one spot. However, they are considered to have a front pair and a back pair of wings. For termites, their front and back pairs are exactly the same length. Carpenter ants, on the other hand, have back wings that are a lot shorter than what their front wings are.
Since both of these insects have wings that go straight back, it isn’t always easy to tell whether they are the same length or different lengths. While you might not be able to easily identify the wings by length, you can identify the insects by what color the wings are. Carpenter ants have wings that have a brown tint. With termites, their wings are translucent and white.
Regardless of whether you are dealing with termites or carpenter ants, you need to make sure you have someone come in and get them taken care of for you as quickly as possible. Otherwise, you will end up with a lot of damage to the structure of your property all because these pests decided to make it their home. By calling in a pest control specialist to come out and inspect your property, you can figure out what might be going on and how to get to the bottom of the problem quickly and easily so as to protect your investment and prevent damage to your home.
Are you interested in a free termite inspection? We are also offering $300 off ANY service! Request a free termite inspection online, call us at 888-945-2847 or visit our contact page.
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