Discover Salem’s most common ant species with our Area-Specific Pest Directory. Identify, prevent, and control local ants effectively with expert tips from Salem Pest Control.
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Key Characteristics of Carpenter Ants in Salem Pest Control: Size, Habitat and Unique Features
📏 Overall Size & Shape
6 to 13 mm
🎨 Covering & Coloration
Carpenter ants are usually black, red, or a combination of both.
Head
The head of carpenter ants is large, rounded, and equipped with strong mandibles for chewing wood.
🦵 Appendages
Carpenter ants have six jointed legs, each attached to the thorax, which allow them to move efficiently and manipulate objects.
⭐ Features
Carpenter ants are known for their ability to excavate wood to create intricate tunnel systems, which they use for nesting rather than eating the wood. They communicate using pheromones and can deploy formic acid as a defense mechanism. These ants have a caste system with specialized roles, including workers, soldiers, and a queen. Carpenter ants are also notable for their nocturnal foraging behavior and their ability to form satellite colonies connected to a main nest.
📍 Habitat
Carpenter ants are commonly found in moist, decaying, or hollow wood both outdoors and indoors. Outdoors, they nest in tree stumps, logs, firewood piles, and wooden structures like fences or decks. Indoors, they are often found in wall voids, window and door frames, crawl spaces, attics, and areas with water damage such as around sinks, bathtubs, and dishwashers. They are attracted to wood softened by moisture.
Professional pest control eliminates troubles immediately. Our safe, effective treatments protect your loved ones from dangerous diseases.

Key Characteristics of Carpenter Ants in Salem Pest Control: Size, Habitat and Unique Features
📏 Overall Size & Shape
6 to 13 mm
🎨 Covering & Coloration
Carpenter ants are typically black, red, or a combination of both.
Head
The head of carpenter ants is large, rounded, and equipped with strong mandibles for chewing wood.
🦵 Appendages
Carpenter ants have six jointed legs, each attached to the thorax, which allow them to move efficiently and manipulate objects.
⭐ Features
Carpenter ants are known for their ability to excavate wood to create intricate nesting galleries, which distinguishes them from many other ant species. They do not eat the wood but remove it to form smooth tunnels and chambers. Carpenter ants communicate using chemical signals and can deploy formic acid as a defense mechanism. They have a complex social structure with specialized roles, including workers, soldiers, and a queen. These ants are also notable for their ability to form satellite colonies connected to a main nest, allowing them to expand and adapt to changing conditions.
📍 Habitat
Carpenter ants are commonly found in moist, decaying, or hollow wood both outdoors and indoors. Outdoors, they nest in tree stumps, logs, firewood piles, and wooden structures like fences or decks. Indoors, they are often found in wall voids, window and door frames, crawl spaces, attics, and areas with water damage such as around sinks, bathtubs, and dishwashers. They are attracted to wood that has been softened by moisture.
Don't risk your pets' health. Our certified technicians can be at your property within 24 hours.

Key Characteristics of Odorous House Ants in Salem Pest Control: Size, Habitat and Unique Features
📏 Overall Size & Shape
2.4–3.3 mm
🎨 Covering & Coloration
Dark brown to black, with a smooth, shiny appearance.
Head
The head of Odorous House Ants is oval-shaped, with no spines, and features 12-segmented antennae without a defined club.
🦵 Appendages
Odorous house ants have six slender, segmented legs that allow them to move quickly and efficiently across various surfaces.
⭐ Features
Odorous house ants emit a distinctive rotten coconut-like smell when crushed, which is their most notable feature. They are highly adaptable in their nesting habits, often relocating their colonies in response to disturbances. These ants form large, multi-queen colonies, allowing for rapid population growth and resilience. They are known for creating complex foraging trails and can quickly exploit food sources, especially sweets. Their ability to survive both indoors and outdoors, along with their tendency to split colonies (budding) when threatened, makes them particularly persistent pests.
📍 Habitat
Odorous house ants are most commonly found in kitchens, bathrooms, and around food storage areas inside homes. Outdoors, they nest under rocks, mulch, logs, and in soil near foundations. They often enter buildings through cracks and gaps in search of food and water.
The average homeowner spends $200+ on failed DIY attempts before calling professionals. Meanwhile, the infestation grows worse.

Key Characteristics of Pavement Ants in Salem Pest Control: Size, Habitat and Unique Features
📏 Overall Size & Shape
2.5–4 mm
🎨 Covering & Coloration
Pavement ants are dark brown to blackish in color.
Head
The head of pavement ants is rectangular with distinct grooves, 12-segmented antennae ending in a three-segmented club, and large, oval compound eyes.
🦵 Appendages
Pavement ants have six jointed legs, each ending in a small claw that helps them grip surfaces as they move.
⭐ Features
Pavement ants are known for their distinctive behavior of creating small mounds of soil between pavement cracks. They exhibit complex social organization, including cooperative foraging and food sharing through trophallaxis. Pavement ants are also notable for their aggressive territorial battles with neighboring colonies, often resulting in large ant confrontations. They have a diverse diet, feeding on seeds, honeydew, insects, and human food scraps. Additionally, pavement ants can adapt to urban environments, nesting under sidewalks and building foundations, and are capable of relocating their colonies when disturbed.
📍 Habitat
Pavement ants are most commonly found in urban and suburban areas, especially around sidewalks, driveways, patios, building foundations, and cracks in pavement. They often nest under concrete slabs, stones, bricks, and along the edges of buildings. Indoors, they may be found in basements, along baseboards, and near heat sources.
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Our certified technicians eliminate pest infestations completely and permanently.
Here's what you get:
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Trained experts identify entry points and nesting areas
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Targets entire colony, not just visible insects or rodents
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Complete property assessment within 24 hours
Safe, effective treatment of entire colony
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