What type of ant is it?

I am a first-time user and new homeowner. Having a lot of problems and today i saw a swarm ants.

Does anyone know what type of ant this is?
i noticed a swarm of ants in front of the door today after the sunset. There were only about handful of ants during the daytime, but now thousands of ants showed up after the sunset. They are crawling up to the roof or attic and forms a trail around the house. So i bought outdoor terro ant bait and placed them nearby. Also i sprinkled terro perimeter ant bait around the house as well.

but i was wondering if this is the type of ant that would work with terro ant bait or whether i should call a professional help.

thank you.

 

I suspect they are carpenter ants and are looking for moist wood. Look for moist or wet wood in the attic or crawl space. If the attic space has high humidity that might be part of the problem. Do you have adequate ventilation in the attic or crawl space?

 

I too believe they are carpenter ants. This may be a "satellite" colony that develops when the "parent" colony gets too big. Queens and workers split off from the parent colony and re-locate literally overnight.

The Terro bait is boric acid, not my favorite for carpenter ants, though if they carry it back and feed the colony it should give results, at least. I'm skeptical that they would be in a feeding mode if they are in fact relocating. My preferred carpenter ants baits would be Advance and/or Maxforce granular. Neither of these are nearly as weather resistant as the boric acid baits so pay attention to the labeled directions for use.

If available in your state, and this is within the ability of DIY, I would use a perimeter spray using the active ingredient: fipronil. Various brand names are Termidor, Taurus SC, Fuse, and others. Fipronil based sprays are non-repellent, which is important. Spray the soil perimeter of house, about 2 feet up and 2 feet out, as well as underside of soffits, vents, porch ceilings/roofs. Even if the colony settles in the attic, enough of the workers will be in/out on a regular basis and contact the fipronil and contaminate the colony. Could take several weeks. Don't use any other sprays as they would probably be repellent and will work against the non-repellent and baiting strategy. You don't have to bait in conjunction, but you can. Bait areas that you don't spray.

The "parent" colony, if this is in fact where the new colony came from, could be in a mature tree nearby. I'd spray 3-4' of tree trunks nearby.

 

Thank you guys for thorough explanation. I traced their track and they were coming over the fence from our neighbor. They were going into the small hole on the outside wall towards the attic.
based on the product description, it looks like terro liquid ant bait doesnt work against carpenter ant, but the perimeter ant bait plus does (which comes in a granules and i believe is the one you are referring to above).

i would probably purchase ones you mention above hoping that terro granules can control the ant population until new baits arrive.