I'm guessing that you're finding the dead/dying winged MALE carpenter ants. They die soon after mating and are typically the ones that are observed. They've become entirely expendable. Both male and female ants have wings during their brief reproductive stage.

I'd be concerned that the newly mated females might be taking up housekeeping in structural wood in your home. A call to a professional pest control company for a thorough home inspection might be in order.

A carpenter ant nest can be very difficult to locate, but a well trained professional knows how, where, when to find them.

The ants are probably already in your structure. And finding multiple winged forms indoors indicates the colony is at least 3 to 4 years old.

So you need to begin looking for clues.

The good news is that , although you need to determine if the ants are in your structure, you have plenty of time to figure that out and, if needed, hire a competent pest control company.

Look for wet wood, as from a roof leak or leaky plumbing or soil/mulch/plants against the siding. If you're *lucky,* you can get by if you replace the damaged wood and also fix the leak.

Unfortunately, by the time most folks find the winged reproductives, the colony is large and the damage more extensive than not.

Investigate both the crawl space (if you have one) and the attic, if accessible. Look for piles of sawdust which may or may not contain fragments of dead insects.

If none of the above are found, continue to do periodic inspections.

And once the weather warms, you can look for a two-way trail outdoors. The time to do that here in the northwest is from April/May through October, at night between the hours of 10 pm and 2 am.

Look first at the foundation of the house, also any overhead utilities that enter the house. When you find the trail, follow it to the main nest. If that nest is on your property, you need to have both the house and main nest treated.

Oh yes, more good news. For the past several years, pest control companies have ant baits specifically for our Northwest carpenter ants. (Understand, though, that the baits you can buy for nuisance ants won't work.)

Just how a site is treated depends upon the individual circumstances. So you'll need to discuss your options with several companies, then choose the one you feel comfortable with.

It was said: "Find the wet wood and fix that and the ants will leave without the need to poison your environment."

Maybe, maybe not.

Carpenter ants usually begin in moisture damaged wood, but may extend into sound woo. Less often, at least in the northwest, they can begin in sound/dry wood.

In some 40 plus years of seeing that done, fixing the source of wet wood and seeing the Carpenter Ants leave with no failure, I cannot believe this would be an iffy thing anywhere.

Isn't it great when you can learn something new, Kimmsr?