ant trouble

[Jonas winslo]

so after splitting some wood, a lot of logs had ants in them. all variously sized ants ,but ants whose home was just recked. granted my wood stack is about 50' from my house. what do some of you do as a preventative measure to keep them out of the house ? i'm looking to spray the perimeter of the foundation and don't want to spray any crap inside my house is anything that is sprayed safe for people / environment ? something natural.

 

[firefighterjake]

I put up signs saying "No Tresspassing . . . ants this means you."

On a serious note . . . the only time I've had issue with ants in my house is when the design of the house (original owners) allowed water to collect inside on the sill and over time that wet wood was like a welcome mat to the little buggers. Otherwise after splitting wood they just seem to wander off to find another, quieter home to live in.

 

[Nixon]

Like Jake says they shouldn't be an issue once you split the wood. Also , if you do decide to use a sign as added insurance, include a picture of an aardvark on it . Should really help .

 

[rdust]

I split about the same distance from my house and have only had a couple wander in a time or two. After you destroy their moist home/environment they tend to disappear.

 

[weatherguy]

Ive had tons of ants in wood Ive split, usually it on scrounged rounds that have been sitting a while, once split I toss the infected splits to the side and they leave, after a couple days I put the wood in my stacks, never had an ant wander into the house. I wouldnt worry about it but maybe spray the permeter of your house for good measure, i do that once a year anyway, did it before I burned wood.

 

[blujacket]

I use Ortho Home Defense around the perimeter of my house every Spring. Seems to work good.

 

[ScotO]

I spray the perimeer of my house around once every three years or so with Ortho Home Defense Max. I spray the foundation really good, as well as the sill plate and any other conspicuous spot where the PITA's can get in. Haven't had a problem since using that stuff. I also occasionally sprinkle the Amdro ant block pellets around the woodstack to control the ants that like to get in there.......knock on wood, it's worked so far.

 

[Highbeam]

I just heavily applied a foundation/perimeter application of termidor SC I bought from:

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/termidor-sc-p-184.html?green=F50F4574-8071-55B1-0694-7C80942AE6A7

This stuff is the ultimate in ant control. The active ingredient is the same as the AI in that frontline flea drop that you put on your dog. It is a non-detectable poison that they unknowingly take back to the nest which kills them and the nest a couple of days later. Mu-ha-ha.

 

[ikessky]

I throw diazanon around my wood piles as I see a lot of ants when I split also. I should probably spray around the house just for good measure.

 

[Highbeam]

Your diazinon is now at least 8 years old since sale was banned in 2004. It's shelf life has nearly deemed it expired. I too have a stockpile of liquid diazinon concentrate and used it on the ants and perimeter. Despite a liberal application it is nowhere near effective as fresh termidor. However, according to the instructions you can use diazinon on fruit trees and in some other places that termidor can not be used.

 

[ikessky]

Your diazinon is now at least 8 years old since sale was banned in 2004. It's shelf life has nearly deemed it expired. I too have a stockpile of liquid diazinon concentrate and used it on the ants and perimeter. Despite a liberal application it is nowhere near effective as fresh termidor. However, according to the instructions you can use diazinon on fruit trees and in some other places that termidor can not be used.

Interesting, I never knew that. My FIL always kept it around because he used it on ant hills in and around his Christmas tree fields.

 

[Highbeam]

Interesting, I never knew that. My FIL always kept it around because he used it on ant hills in and around his Christmas tree fields.

It was mainly banned since it is so very harmful to birds and fish when applied on or near water bodies. There were lots of big kills. It was a dang good chemical and I especially liked the granules for killing cranefly grubs in the lawns. You can't buy it anymore and the pesticide company tech reps are starting to forget that it ever existed.

 

[osagebow]

Live in thick woods, and I had ant problems when we moved in - sealed up the gap between siding and foundation block, and some other places. I have had few ants since.