Japanese carpenter ant, Camponotus japonicus.
As we were demolishing a portion of our Japanese farmhouse here in Northern Japan, we found a huge carpenter ant colony hiding directly under the bathtub! Talk about the heebie-jeebies! The bathroom, and tub, were in an add-on portion of the house that was not nearly as quality built as the main home. As we tore it apart, we found some minor evidence of damage, but nothing prepared me for what I found under the tub!
Damage was limited…
Fortunately, it seems the actual wood damage was limited to the area directly adjacent to the tub, and even that only for access to/from the nest and their outside food source. After a little poking around I found that the ants were tending local herds of aphids for their ‘aphid nectar’. A pretty neat science project if we had the time, but we had a house to remodel! We snapped some pictures and video and tore it all out.
The Japanese carpenter ant is actually incredibly common in Japan. Along with termites, most Japanese will tell you that it is not a matter of keeping them out of your wood homes, but of minimizing and slowing the damage they will do!
Tools for controlling Japanese carpenter ants
Being a very hot and humid country in the summer, Japan has an annual battle royal with their local insect neighbors. The most common tool to fight ants, termites, spiders, mukade (evil biting centipedes that can put a child, or older adult, in the hospital), and any number of other ground insects, is a white insecticide powder you spread around the perimeter of your house. You pour it around the concrete foundation, with special attention around openings and natural insect traveling intersections. It actually works pretty well! Most of them are pyrethroid and carbamate based pesticides, with some mixing in diatomaceous earth as a base.
Considerations for using this is that it washes away with rain, if not under a protective eave or overhang. Also, if you have small children, you might reconsider application in areas where they can get to it. You also have to apply it regularly due to being blown away by the wind, or just natural deterioration. Every 3 months is about right, if not washed away in the rain!
At any rate, carpenter ants or termites, your Japanese kominka home has plenty of natural enemies looking to sink their teeth into her!
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