Carpenter Ants I think?

bunionboy

Some sort of critter has eaten a hole in the roof of my back garage which I seldom use. I was in there today and there is a pile of sawdust or wood shavings on the floor of the garage directly under a hole which is about 4"in diameter.

I have not seen any insects, but obviously they are present. I would suspect carpenter ants.

Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? I do not want to pay $150 to have a professional come out if I can do it myself.

Thanks in advance

bunionboy

Thank you! After having posted it, I noticed I had put it in the wrong place and could not figure out how to move it.

Jackofall1

Hello Bunion and welcome to the best darn DIY'r site on the web.

Sounds to more like the work of a squirrel. Just my thoughts, I am sure there will be more. A picture usually helps loads as far as getting more responses.

Mark

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PAbugman

Insects would never eat a hole that large. They don’t make “holes” per se but tunnel out galleries. Sounds like a squirrel or large rodent.

PAbugman

On the lighter side: A sure sign of carpenter ant presence is when you find tiny beer cans everywhere!

bunionboy

Here is a picture of the sawdust on my car after three days and a picture of the hole.

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PAbugman

Definitely not insect. Woodpecker maybe?

sdsester

Squirrel or some sort of roof rat gets my vote! Edges look gnawed and that much sawdust in three days has to be something furry and not feathered. Kind of weird they would chew a hole right in the middle of an open section of roof like that though unless it was obviously failing and vulnerable to them. Then again, squirrels did not evolve into the brightest of creatures. However, a raccoon would thinking nothing of clawing or chewing a hole wherever it felt like it.

You should set a trap and get whatever it is. Obviously you need to get up there and patch things. Where I moved from, squirrels in one part of town were notorious for destroying wiring on at least 10 cars a year in a community college parking lot. They used to only take out 5-6 but an animal behaviorist was brought in and suggested building them habitats with big screen tvs, squirrel **** on DVD and stuff to drink and smoke would keep them busy and away from cars. They just multiplied in numbers and taught the young the same habits.