Report of an investigation of damage by wood ants in buildings in Sweden

IRG/WP 148

V Butovitsch

Wood ants in buildings occur everywhere in Sweden, particularly in maritime districts and in vicinity of larger lakes. The damage caused by Camponotus herculeanus does not differ from that caused by Camponotus ligniperda. The former occurs in all Sweden, the latter only in southern Sweden. The damage is to be found almost exclusively in dwelling houses (week-end cabins and "all-the-year round" houses) in or close to forests.·Buildings of all ages are liable to wood ants attacks. All wooden part of houses, particularly the walls, can be infested. Sound timber is much more desirable to the insects than wood that is infected with wood-rotting fungi. The construction of the building can sometimes affect the frequency of the damage. This is the case particularly with cabins which lack basements. The decisive part in wood ant migrations from forest to buildings is the distance from the edge of the wood: the shorter this distance the greater the danger of invasion.


Keywords: BUILDINGS; CAMPONOTUS HERCULEANUS; CAMPONOTUS LIGNIPERDA; DISTRIBUTION; INSURANCE; SURVEY; SWEDEN; ANTS; INSECTS

Conference: 76-05-12/15 Wildhaus, Switzerland


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