Carpenter ant control in the Pacific Northwest is a necessary fact of life.  They are the most important insect in the wood destroying category, accounting for many more infestations than termites and powder post beetles.  Although seeing one carpenter ant does not necessarily mean that your house is infested, the presence of one indicates that a nest is nearby.  Ants with wings are known as "winged reproductives", which when seen indoors is almost always a sign that the nest is inside the structure.  These are often confused with termites.  To differentiate the two, carpenter ants have a narrow waist and uneven pairs of wings, while termites have a broad waist and two pairs of wings that are the same size.  Carpenter ants do not actually feed on wood as termites do, but they can do extensive damage as they will create tunnels inside the wood to expand their living space as their colony grows.  They leave behind piles of frass as they work, which includes coarse shavings of wood and usually insect parts and other debris.  Our most common carpenter ant is camponotus modoc, but there are several other species occurring in the Northwest including a camponotus vicinus which can often be seen trailing up the corners of homes in the spring and finding their way along the soffits and into attics.