Tetramorium caespitum, or commonly referred to as pavement ants, are a species of ant native to Europe but were introduced to North America. The common name comes from the way these ants make their nests in North America, which is usually burrowed under sand and under pavement. They are very aggressive when trying to expand their colonies and will attempt to attack and conquer other colonies that are nearby in the early springtime, which can lead to large battles occurring on sidewalks and roads leaving hundreds to thousands of ants dead. The ants are dark brown to an almost blackish color and can be anywhere from 2.5 to 4 mm in size. Unlike the carpenter ant, they do not destroy structures. They are more of a nuisance
CARPENTER ANTS: Genus: Camponotus. There are over 1000 different species of Carpenter Ants, the most commonly known is the black carpenter ant, Camponotus Pennsylvanicus. These ants are indigenous to many parts of the world that have forests. They create their colonies by digging through dead, damp wood. They do not actually consume the wood, but burrow through it creating tunnels that leave an almost saw dust-like by product called frass, which usually can be seen under infested areas in a home. Carpenter ants can cause widespread damage to wooden buildings or structures after infesting the wood, and are the major cause of structural damage to most homes. When infesting the wood, carpenter ants set-up colonies outside of the main colony called satellite nests that are smaller versions of the main colony. Many places that are infested with carpenter ants, have multiple satellite nests within the structure which therefore makes it difficult to exterminate. Before trying to home-remedy a problem such as this, call a professional to find out how infested your structure is and the course of treatment.