Bugs - Chemical Warfare

[mikenr1c]

I hate bugs. Probably every kind......maybe not butterflies.

I recently received a load of wood that looks like generally nice stuff. I was just outside splitting up some of the larger pieces before stacking and I came across about 6 pieces that were obviously harboring bugs. They were clearly black and riddled with ant holes. I split them open to find sluggish black ants and larvae.

So I resorted to chemical warfare and sprayed each piece. I won't bring them near my house or stove. But - I feel p###. Why would someone throw these on the truck and take the chance of spreading them to a customers house? So, am I overreacting?

 

[BotetourtSteve]

Carpenter Ants - NOT over-reacting. Kissing cousins to termites, potential damage-wise.

Hard to fault the wood salesman though - I've brought home a many a piece and/or pieces over the years full of ants myself - missed them while I was cutting/loading.

 

[Redox]

I have been fighting carpenter ants for years. Found that if you immediately throw the split piece out into the yard, the birds go nuts for them. They only really go after wood that is wet or punky and assuming you don't have any of that in your house, you will be OK. I just ripped out the floor in our master bath and found another nest of them. No surprise, though. It's been a problem since we moved in. I decided to go after the rot rather than resort to chemical warfare. My reading is that it is often a waste of time.

 

[mtarbert]

I stack our wood on a "Patio" that is under a large screened in pourch. We have a walk out basement and the wood is never rained on. Whenever I stack wood on this patio I mix up an Ant spray made be Ortho and spray the whole stack down real well. I use a 3000lbs paint sprayer so I know it gets into all the nooks and crainies. I call Ortho and they tell me the spray breaks down in 30 days so burning it in the winter is not poisoning Me and my Family. It kills spiders ants and all manner of creepy crawlies.
Mike

 

[SPED]

I stack our wood on a "Patio" that is under a large screened in pourch. We have a walk out basement and the wood is never rained on. Whenever I stack wood on this patio I mix up an Ant spray made be Ortho and spray the whole stack down real well. I use a 3000lbs paint sprayer so I know it gets into all the nooks and crainies. I call Ortho and they tell me the spray breaks down in 30 days so burning it in the winter is not poisoning Me and my Family. It kills spiders ants and all manner of creepy crawlies.
Mike

Mike do you know the exact name for it? Sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. I've only been spraying under my stacks as I was worried about burning the stuff.

 

[RonB]

Once the wood is stacked and seasoned, bugs are not really an issue for me. The carpenter ants require moisture. You usually find them in damp or punky wood. Once it is split open they run for it. The only insect I have ever noticed in the house in the winter due to my wood is an occasional miniature moth (like a miller?).

 

[jadm]

Just moved a lot of wood a day ago while cleaning up my stacks before next years load arrives. Many creepy crawlies which sent us to the computer to try to figure out what they were. Mostly concerned about spiders because we do have brown recluse and black widows though I have never seen one on our property. Our defense - long sleeves, long pants with rubber bands at the bottom and gloves. We also tap the wood off before bringing it into the house to knock anything off. Usually spiders are only a problem in the fall and spring. Wood pretty clean in the winter. I guess spiders hibernate or go dormant. Oh yes, we do get dormant yellow jackets but not many.

Haven't used chemicals due to our dogs that eat wood chips like they are potato chips.

 

[RedRanger]

I stack our wood on a "Patio" that is under a large screened in pourch. We have a walk out basement and the wood is never rained on. Whenever I stack wood on this patio I mix up an Ant spray made be Ortho and spray the whole stack down real well. I use a 3000lbs paint sprayer so I know it gets into all the nooks and crainies. I call Ortho and they tell me the spray breaks down in 30 days so burning it in the winter is not poisoning Me and my Family. It kills spiders ants and all manner of creepy crawlies.
Mike

Mike do you know the exact name for it? Sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. I've only been spraying under my stacks as I was worried about burning the stuff.

 

[RedRanger]

Lindane is a sure bet if ya can still buy it. Otherwise, anything else you use will only have a residual value of 30 days max.

You have to treat outside and inside, give them critters no where to go with out crawling over a chemical, it is basicallyl as simple as that. And if all you can buy is something lilke "Sevin" then you will have to repeat every 30 days.

If you are persistant, you can win the battle against the termites and the carpenter ants, but you have do give them no where that they can go without walking over the chemicals.

And if you ain`t willing to wage chemical wafare on those little destroying beasts? Then you may as well walk away and sell to some one else !!








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[Haston]

In dealing with Carpenter Ants inside the house, I found this Home pest control site/company incredibly helpful: http://www.bugspray.com/article/carpenterants.html I used the Ant Gel that they sell and totally got rid of the infestation indoors. That was perhaps six years ago, with everything all clear since then. (I also took down a magnolia and a tulip poplar that loomed over the affected portion of the roof, which obviously helped as well). But that ant gel worked wonders. As for ants in the wood, we had a white oak lose a large, rotted limb that crushed a brickwall and barbeque. When I began to cut the limb up, I unearthed a carpenter ant nest that would do a horror movie proud. It was close to the house, so I ended up spraying the nest with water and dishwashig soap. It laid waste to the nest dwellers and I was still able to salvage much of the wood for use this past winter. Once the oak was "soaped", split, and stacked, the ants skedaddled from the wood and it ended up serving us well in the Regency insert. H.

 

[billb3]

fighting the carpenter ants here is a never ending battle.

they will infest an oak tree after the oak borers have chewed nice big tunnels to gain them entrance.

they'll also chew a cavity between two pieces of plywood for the Winter.

I've found this to be a good way to trap them and find if you have any.

Sevin sprinkled on them in the Winter when they can't run away does them in right quick. Fewer birds around to eat the Sevin coated ants.

If they get into the base of an oak, a good wind storm will snap it off. I have trees the ants left a long time ago. Some still standing. Chemicals may have driven them off but the damage is done. Sometimes they will be in just a small section and will live in there untill the log gets cut into rounds. Someone cutting logs as quick as possible to make a buck might not even notice them.
I have a red oak still standing I found that has absolutely no heart wood in it. From the base to the top. Looks like owls lived in it at one time. Just the outer layer of bark. The tree is still alive. The wind should have knocked it over but hasn't.

 

[Robbie]

A soapy mix of dish detergent and warm water kills almost all bugs, bees and ants on contact.

In fact, I can't think of any bug I've ever sprayed it on it's not killed.

Buy cheap dish deteregent and mix in a gallon sprayer, it will last a long time.

If you can see them, it will kill them.

Safe and water evaporates.

Wasp and bees are no match, knocks them right out of the air and they never fly again......hit a nest of 20 wasp and they all fall straight to the ground.....just don't stand under them, they probably got one sting left........

TIP: make sure mixture is slick feeling and don't shake container, just fill slowly with water and gently swish around until mixed.



Robbie

 

[woodburn]

Has anyone ever used diatamatious earth to keep bugs away? Someone told me to sprinkle that around the woodpiles to keep the bastards away!