Stinking Carpenter Ants! Help!

[yankeesouth]

I figured on a site that deals with wood.....sombody may have a suggestion for me! So I am asking for help. Carpenter ants! How do you get rid of them? I mean for good! They are colonizing somewhere in my rafters, NOT GOOD, around my chimney. I reflashed the chimney to stop moisture from coming in. I know folks say get the debris away from the property, old wood, leaves, etc....but this is a cabin in the middle of the words......that just "ain't gonna happen" Does anyone have a sure-fire or goto method for getting rid of carpenter ants! Those little buggers are pretty darn destructive!

 

[fossil]

Figure out where water is readily available to them, and do whatever you can to eliminate it. No water, no carpenter ants.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Eliminate water, then boron treat.

 

[fossil]

Hey, there's an App for that

(broken link removed to https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ortho-problem-solver/id464109977?mt=8)

 

[yankeesouth]

Thanks....I knew they liked water/wet wood that's why I reflashed my chimney. Additional question.....If I can't find the exact location of the colony (treat and kill them) but stop the water.....will they eventually find new chewing grounds, hopefully away from the cabin, once everything dries out?

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Thanks....I knew they liked water/wet wood that's why I reflashed my chimney. Additional question.....If I can't find the exact location of the colony (treat and kill them) but stop the water.....will they eventually find new chewing grounds, hopefully away from the cabin, once everything dries out?

They probably will. Boron treatment is not poisonous to humans, and you can treat a large area for relatively short money, so you should be able to cover it using a shotgun approach.

 

[StihlHead]

Difficult if not impossible to eradicate carpenter ants in a 'cabin in the woods' setting, as more of them will just forage from the forest again even if you wipe them all out in the cabin. I had them here in my house and I had to tear open a wall and replace the studs and siding. They had come in through the foundation and into a wall that was wet from a roof leak that was fixed prior to my buying this place. That kind of damage is very common in the wetter parts of Oregon.

As others have said, reduce the moisture and leaks and they will build a home someplace else. They do not eat wood like termites do, they tunnel in wood to build nests. Typically they vacate them when things dry out, but other smaller ants here move into the old nests and forage for the wood fungus. My new firewood has roaming carpenter ants looking for new homes already. I only store cedar by the house, the rest is 20 feet away from the house.

 

[heat seeker]

This stuff works great for us:

http://www.terro.com/

It takes a few days, to a week, but it's hit 100% for us.

 

[stee6043]

Demon WP. This stuff changed our lives! Well...maybe not that extreme. But it treats for bees, ants, everything. And it's the same stuff the pro's were using and charging us $50 a month to "maintain".

I get it here:
http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/

I run a line all the way around our house. Highly effective.

 

[jharkin]

Last year we had a bad problem with carpenter ants in the kitchen wall. Had a pro inspection that found termites in the soil and getting into the basement also. So we ended up having a full pro treatment done. They use termidor - sprayed around the outside of the foundation for the ants and injected into the soil to kill the termite colonies.

I don't like pesticides but it worked, and I have a 7 year guarantee and termite free certification that is now becoming a requirement around here to sell property.


For long term prevention I'm also fixing some issues of poor drainage around that wall and moving plants that are too close to the foundation.

 

[Augie]

Permethrin is a chemical made from chrysanthemums originally safe for humans and dogs, not so much for cats, same thing in most broad spectrum insecticides, cheapest way to buy it is as Horse Spray from a farm store.

I use it liberally abound the woodpile and the house, inside along the sill in the basement, around the floor wall joints, and outside on the foundation about once every month in the late spring,summer,fall. Haven't had bugs in the house since I started doing it. Same stuff in Ortho Home Defense. It is more preventative form me though.....

 

[Highbeam]

Here's your answer....

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/carpenter-ant-control-c-1_177.html

I use the termidor or the generic taurus. It is the 10 year stuff for termites but is also the best thing for carpenter ants. The ants set up a colony in the house but they leave every day to get food. The good chemicals, like taurus and termidor, stick to these traveling ants and the travelers bring it back to the colony and the colony dies.

You don't want to use the regular instant kill chemicals. You want the ant highway to cross your poison and track it to the nest. If you find roamers, those guys are going to help you.

Yes, you can control ants in a cabin in the woods if you know how to kill the colony and not just one ant at a time.

The termidor chemical works for a huge list of critters like spiders and other ants too. Apply per the directions and the ants will disappear. I also had those little tiny pavement ants and they went away too.

My tipping point, when I got serious about carpenter ants, is when I found a trail of them caravanning in and out of my home at night. Ick. Their shiny bodies and antennas reflecting the flashlight light.

 

[charly]

Natural Ant Killer

 

[jeanw]

why are ants around my blueberries bushes... in the ground around them ?? quite a few patches of them around those areas....
I also noticed them under cardboard around my strawbales raised garden beds. I been keeping big pieces of cardboard on the bales to keep them longer and less "graSS" GROWING IN THEM. At least the straw bales , in the ones from SS, not the blankity ones from a person who I bought lots of bales and he delivered too Beware of individuals who keep saying "I finally got it cut (partime farmer), the straw that is.... before "the Milk stage". Terrible baling twine and not really compressed good. So all in all a waste of money. LOL
Thanks
Jean

 

[n3pro]

Great thread, looking at the Termidor which is new to me I found this that made me wonder how my sue jobs they got. "Termidor is not labeled for use directly on pets.)" What? Attempting to kill carpenter ants and termites you spray your pets?

 

[yankeesouth]

Thanks for the tips. I took a little from everyone. I doubt there will be a living bug within 10 feet of or in the cabin in a few weeks.

 

[Highbeam]

Great thread, looking at the Termidor which is new to me I found this that made me wonder how my sue jobs they got. "Termidor is not labeled for use directly on pets.)" What? Attempting to kill carpenter ants and termites you spray your pets?

Termidor is wonderful stuff. You will realize that as soon as you use it and it wipes out ants, spiders, pill bugs, earwigs, bees all the stuff you didn't think you had will be dead and gone. Then you read the directions and find that it will kill pretty much anything and your flea bitten dog could use a delousing. Just a quick spritz you think. Maybe fine, maybe not. These chemicals are tested and approved for only certain uses, anything else may be fine but it is not tested and approved so you're on your own.

The termidor is not supposed to be sprayed indoors either except spot applications in walls. Have you ever seen sugar ants? Millions of tiny and crawling in and out from under a baseboard? Gross! I heard a rumor that a shot under the baseboard with termidor will kill that colony forever.

 

[Don2222]

Get a garden sprayer and get the strongest termite Insecterside you can find and spray the outside parimeter. You will no longer have any bugs in the house!

 

[jdp1152]

Permethrin is a chemical made from chrysanthemums originally safe for humans and dogs, not so much for cats, same thing in most broad spectrum insecticides, cheapest way to buy it is as Horse Spray from a farm store.

I use it liberally abound the woodpile and the house, inside along the sill in the basement, around the floor wall joints, and outside on the foundation about once every month in the late spring,summer,fall. Haven't had bugs in the house since I started doing it. Same stuff in Ortho Home Defense. It is more preventative form me though.....

Put on your clothes before turkey hunting. You won't see a tick

 

[BASFStewardship]

As the manufacturer of Termidor® products, we have committed to the EPA to carefully monitor, and instruct upon, the correct use of our products. As part of our commitment to EPA, we have monitored this site.
Your recent participation in a conversation around the BASF product Termidor® termiticide/insecticide gave us concern about your possible use of the product. While we do not have all the facts surrounding your use, it is important that you understand the following:

· Non-labeled use of federally registered pesticides is a violation of federal and state law.

· Uses not included on the Label have not been evaluated for human and environmental safety and can result in human and environmental hazard.

Please carefully review the label to confirm the legal permitted uses of Termidor. You may also visit our website, pestcontrol.basf.us/properuse, which also contains information on the proper use of Termidor. For any questions you may have, you may call us at 877-837-6436 or 800-777-8570, or email questions to [email protected] . We also encourage you to share these resources with anyone you suspect may be involved in the non-labeled use of Termidor®.

Thank You

The BASF Product Stewardship Team

 

[BrotherBart]

Google strikes again.

 

[Highbeam]

So did they see something that they did not like or was it a total robo-response with canned CYA notes? I use termidor(actually the generic "taurus") at my home.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I dust everything with diatomaceous earth, as well. Not instant, but non-toxic and long lasting. I live in a log home, so I have to be careful

(broken image removed)

 

[maverick06]

I have used Delta Dust with great results on my insects (wasps and ants). Long story short, i also had something making "crunching" noises in the wall. I drilled holes and sprayed the dust in the voids between the studs and a week or so later there were no noises.

I also had lots of ants (not carpenter) coming in the house every year. They lived outside and I never was able to get at it with dust. BUT I bought 4 liquid bait stations and have used them to destroy the colonies. I have in the past filled the stations with "Gourmet Liquid Ant Bait "and have had great success! This year I bought "Terro PCO Liquid Ant Bait" I havent used it yet, but it should show up in the mail today since it was a bit cheaper since you can dilute it.

I used to put down the granular stuff all over hte yard, but now with little kids, I dont like the added risks. I put the bait stations around the house (4 stations) and the ants flock to it then die off.

Your problem is inside, I would certainly suggest the bait stations, and the dust (if you can hit them, probably flood the chimney area with the dust). Then maybe some the gel bait stations.

I priced out some pest control companies, at thier costs you can buy all the poison you want and do it more competantly than they will. I bought mine off the internet, great stuff.

 

[MikoDel]

I had a bad problem with carpenter ants living inside the pressboard door of my expensive shed. It's one of those sheds you pay to be delivered, and dropped onto concrete footings.

So these ants were in serious numbers, and I knew they were loving the mix of pressboard and glue that made up the panels of the two doors on my shed. I bought an "advanced" chemical for ant control, that is meant to be sprayed (can't remember but I think pyrethrin) but since the ants were crawling vertically up through a tiny seam in the flashing, I realized that trying to spray up there was an exercise in futility.

I was scared at the daily damage I imagined them doing, so for a quick action step, I bought quite A LOT of the traps that you fold into "ant hotels" and just leave. The kind you can get at any home store. I put down about 5 strips (the open kind) and about 8 or 10 hotels, the enclosed kind. I didn't expect this to do too much, but I was concerned and I wanted to do something.
Lo and behold, a few weeks later there was ZERO ant activity. Fast forward to a year later (now) and there's still ZERO ant activity.
Keep in mind that I OVERDID the number of traps needed, but these things worked far better than I expected.

This thread taught me a lot, thanks.