Termites vs. Ants: How to Tell the Difference

Both termites and carpenter ants can damage your home, but it can be difficult for homeowners to distinguish between termites vs. ants. These winged insects look similar, swarming in the spring during mating season. Each presents different problems.

Read on to learn the key differences between termites and ants and uncover which pest is causing issues in your home.

Termite vs. Ant Damage to Homes

Termites cause damage to homes faster than carpenter ants, creating significant damage within two to four years. Damage from carpenter ants can take many years and is usually easier to detect as these ants hang around areas with moisture and can be seen scurrying around.

Termites (Isoptera) and carpenter ants (Camponotus) share several similarities, not the least of which is that they are both notorious for causing wood damage in homes.

Physical Differences

Termites and ants have several different physical characteristics to help tell them apart. Termites have much longer, fragile wings and white, rectangular bodies. Carpenter ants have wings proportionate to reddish-black bodies and well-defined, narrow waists.

Body shape

An easy way to tell termites and ants apart is to check and see if the insect has a waist. A termite has no "waist"; its body is more rectangular, without narrowing in the center. In contrast, the carpenter ant has a well-defined, narrow, and constricted waist.

Antennae

Termites and ants also have different antennae. A termite has straight, beaded antennae; a carpenter ant’s antennae are bent or “elbowed.”

Wings

Termite wings are much larger compared to ant wings. A termite's wings are equal in size and shape and are much longer than its body. Termite wings also fall off easily, and loose wings are often seen near the opening of a termite nest.

A carpenter ant's back wings are shorter than its front forewings, and the wings aren't disproportionate to its body.

Color

Termite workers are transparent, light-colored, or creamy white. Ant workers are reddish or dark-colored.

Life Cycle

Termites live much longer than ants. They have a five-stage cycle: egg, larva, nymph, molt, and adult. The queen can live up to 30 years, while the worker and soldier termites live between one to two years, and reproductive termites live around three to four years.

Carpenter ants have a life cycle of four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The queen carpenter ant can live up to 10 years, but the male workers die shortly after mating, living only a few months, if not weeks.

Behavioral Differences

Termites and carpenter ants build their nests in wood. Termites will chew and eat healthy wood, but carpenter ants prefer moist, damaged wood.

Termites create ragged tunnels and mud tubes to travel between the soil and wood. Carpenter ants build clean tunnels so that you may see wood shavings near the holes.

A termite worker avoids the light and is rarely noticed unless its nest is disturbed. A carpenter ant worker is frequently seen in the open foraging for food.

Habitat

Termites and ants prefer different types of wood to build their nests. Termites chew right into the healthy wood. Carpenter ants seek out moist and damaged wood to excavate for their nests.

Diet

Termites eat the wood where they nest. Carpenter ants dig into the wood to excavate their nests. The ants don't eat the wood but push it out through openings in the galleries of their colonies. Small piles of wood shavings or frass (insect waste) below the holes are signs of a carpenter ant infestation. 

Tunnels

Termite galleries are rough, ragged, and filled with layers of soil and mud. You may also notice mud tubes if termites are present. These are tubes built on the outside of walls or between the soil and wood and serve as the passageways through which the termites travel.

Carpenter ant wood tunnels and galleries are smoother and more finished than termite tunnels.

Signs of Termites vs. Ants

Termites

• Loose wings near tunnel holes
• Ragged, rough tunnels with layers of dirt
• Mud tubes on walls or leading up to your home
• Significant signs of wood damage
• Hollow-sounding wood structures

Carpenter Ants

• Large, winged ants scurrying around near or inside your home
• Smooth, finished tunnels in moist wood structures
• Wood shavings outside of tunnel holes

Controlling Termites and Carpenter Ants

Because termites and carpenter ants are so different, each requires different control measures to remove them. A termite infestation usually requires professional help. Carpenter ants can often be controlled by eliminating the conditions that attract them (e.g., rotting wooden structures).

Ask a pest control expert about using different chemicals to kill the existing insects and repel them from further infestation. Inspect your home's wood structures so any wood damaged by insects is removed and replaced.

If you notice winged ant-like insects in your home, collect a sample to compare with online photos or show it to a pest control professional for identification and recommended treatment.