Carpenter ants on the windowsill signify a carpenter ant colony inside it.
Their presence in the windows can be the initial stages of carpenter ant infestation waiting to happen in your home.
In this guide, you’ll find out why carpenter ants get inside the windowsill.
You’ll also learn how to eliminate carpenter ants in the windowsill and prevent carpenter ants from entering your home.
Why Are Carpenter Ants In The Windowsill?
There are two reasons for carpenter ants in the window sills.
First, carpenter ants are crawling through the gaps in the window sill and frame and invading your house.
Many invading bugs and insects use the gaps in the window sills and frames to sneak inside homes.
Second, carpenter ants have built their nests inside the window sill.
The window sill must be damp. Carpenter ants nest and build colonies inside damp and rotting wood pieces.
Excessive moisture causes serious damage to the window sill and frame. That makes it easy for the carpenter ants to drill into them and build nests.
A carpenter ant colony inside the window sill can hold a few hundred carpenter ants.
Over time, if you don’t get rid of them, the colony will grow and spread inside your home.
As a homeowner, you shouldn’t let that happen. If the carpenter ants’ nests spread, it’ll cause significant damage inside your house.
Also, carpenter ants will build new nests inside the home. They’ll not limit themselves to your window sill.
Signs Of Carpenter Ant Colony In Windowsills And Frames
Sawdust on and below the windows, sightings of live carpenter ants, and tiny holes on the windowsill and frame are three signs of carpenter ant infestation in the windows.
The sawdust is a fine, grounded wood powder that carpenter ants throw out while they make tiny holes in the window sill.
Carpenter ant infestation in the windowsills signifies water damage on the window sill.
The water leakages in the house cause the windows and walls to absorb the water. That leads to an increase in dampness in the walls and windows.
The damp walls and window sills become an easy target for ants and other pests to build nests in them.
Another sign of a carpenter ant invasion in your home is the sighting of winged ants on the window sill.
The winged ants are reproductives that leave their colonies to invade new structures.
These reproductive ants are attracted to light. So, they fly inside the house through open doors and windows.
Their signs include sightings of broken wings on the windowsill and floor. You’ll also notice dead and alive flying ants in your house and near the window.
But the worst part is that winged termites also enter homes similarly.
How Can You Get Rid Of Carpenter Ants In Windowsills?
Start with using an ant spray on the window sill. Then follow it up by drilling a bit on the holes in the window sill and pouring diatomaceous earth into it.
Boric acid and diatomaceous earth are desiccants. Diatomaceous earth penetrates ants’ exoskeletons and dehydrates them by absorbing their body fluids.
However, you’ll also need to ensure that the carpenter ants don’t invade your home through the windowsills from the outdoors.
You’ll need to get rid of their colonies in your yard. You’ll also need to seal any gaps and cracks in the windows.
Remove the vegetation near the windows.
Ants and insects like aphids and springtails use them as a bridge to get onto the windowsill and crawl inside your home.
It’d be best to use ant granules along your home’s perimeter.
Ant granules act as a chemical barrier, preventing soil-dwelling pests like ants and termites from invading your home and nesting in your house.
Install window screens with fine mesh on the window to ensure no flying bugs like flying ants and winged termites don’t invade your house.
But most importantly, you’ll need to control the moisture in your property by fixing water leakages.
Ants, like many other home-invading pests, are moisture bugs that invade homes looking for sources of moisture and food.
Nang Chen is an Entomologist and Arachnologist who is associated with Vienna’s museum of natural history. He’s also a consultant with real estate groups, insecticide conglomerates and law enforcement groups as a forensic entomologist. Nang Chen holds an M.S. from South China University and he’s a regular contributor to our site.