? The post refers to carpenter ants, not termites.

@Stephanie99 Carpenter ants can not digest cellulose , they do not eat wood .

@Besalbub I know, I said that in my original post. That's what these words mean "Carpenter ants actually do not gain nutritional value from wood, they chew it up to build their nests"

@Stephanie99 OK , just sticking up for the pest control guy

@Besalbub The pest control guy said that they use wood for it's nutrients like cellulose. That was the part I was objecting to.

@Stephanie99 to imply they use it as a structural resource because they don’t eat it.

@ScientistV You think that he meant that they use cellulose as a structural resource?
He specifically said nutrient which means "a substance that provides nourishment essential for growth and the maintenance of life"

@ScientistV I was going to say something within the same lines. Since you have already, all left for me to say is that I totally agree with your logic.

If he has said that, I would have thought that he had done his homework. That is what they do. I do think that you need an understanding of what you are doing to do it well. It's not rocket science. I don't need him to be an intellectual.

He deserves the ridicule. It's his vocation, and he made statements as if he was an expert.

Okay, then how about you do your research. He gave the same description as Orkin does, and he was technically correct, the BEST KIND of correct. You, on the other hand insulted his intelligence and defamed his character because you were too stupid to understand that building a nest is different than eating. They chew it so they can carry it. Evolutionarily did you think animals that lack thumbs and fingers use their hands? You were wrong and not only were you wrong, you insulted a man for being right and you being too wrong to see that, Stephanie99, good job. ??????

@novoxguy so we ridicule inarticulate but correct people? Shit, who knew the Nobel Peace Prize was a Comedy Award.

@ScientistV They don't make the nest out of the wood, they make the nest in the holes that they make in the wood. Maybe you should reread the Orkin page. Also, the pest control guy did not say that they make nests in the wood. I did.

@ScientistV

He was not correct. He said that ants use cellulose in wood for it's nutritional content. Nutrient means "a substance that provides nourishment essential for growth and the maintenance of life." Carpenter ants cannot digest cellulose. Therefore they cannot use it for nutritional content.

I wasn't dismissive, rude or arrogant to the man. I just didn't call him back.

When I pay money for the expertise of another, I expect them to have it.