Unlike termites, carpenter ants do not eat wood. Carpenter ants can excavate tunnels in wood to create spaces to nest in but they do not actually eat the wood. The kinds of carpenter ants that we commonly encounter in Florida confine their excavation of wood almost entirely to wood that has already been damaged by decay (such as where there have been roof or plumbing leaks) or termites. Carpenter ants can sometimes damage electronic equipment by pulling insulation from wiring but they are primarily a nuisance pest. The are controlled mainly because most people do not want to share their homes with large numbers of crawling (and at times, flying) insects.