Question and/or opinions wanted.

[Mike Baker 2]

I have some black walnut that I have been seasoning for several years, hoping to use it in some projects. I have had it stacked in back of my shed. It was actually being used to hold down some vinyl skirting I got for my trailer last year, to keep the wind from catching them and sending them flying over the neighborhood.
I went looking for a piece of it to make a saw handle last year, and the underside of it was covered in big, black ants. I am assuming they are carpenter ants, but don't really know. Ant ID is not my specialty. They could also be a big ant colony underneath the skirting, and have nothing to do with the walnut, but my bet is that's wishful thinking on my part.
The ants are calmed down now because of winter, or at least they were. It has been unseasonably warm, and I have been locked up at home with a nasty chest cold for the past 8 days, so they could be swarming again as far as I know.
Is there any way I can visually inspect the wood to determine whether it is infested, being used for eggs, hibernation, etc.?
Thanks in advance.

[Jim Koepke]

The carpenter ants around here leave big holes in anything they are into.

jtk

[Mike Baker 2]

Thanks, Jim. When I'm ambulatory again I"ll take a closer look. I did not see any of that on the pieces I checked last. but to be honest, I saw all the ants and just threw up my hands and tried not to weep, and I only looked at the face of the pieces, and not the ends.
I'll give em a once over good as soon as I'm able.
Would be nice to use them. They would make great tool handles and other small things. They are about 20" x 7" x 2", but they were split in wedges so they went with the grain direction, ie; they are not all straight and uniform in size or shape. Would require working them with a plane to get them where I need them. They were originally meant to be 1/4" tops for electric guitars.

[Lee Schierer]

Carpenter ant damage looks a lot like termite damage, less the mud tunnels.