# Carpenter Ants



## yankeesouth (Apr 10, 2012)

Anyone have a good remedy for getting rid of carpenter ants?  I can't seem to find the queen and have put everything from powders to foams trying to get them.  I am about ready to call an exterminator.  It’s a cabin in the woods so getting rid of old wood or wood piles is going to be next to impossible.


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## davmor (Apr 10, 2012)

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/termidor-sc-p-184.html
This is the stuff I use. I live in the woods too. No more ants around the house after I sprayed with this.


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## yankeesouth (Apr 10, 2012)

Thanks dav that stuff looks like what I am looking for.


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## FanMan (Apr 10, 2012)

One of my co-workers swears by a mixture of sugar and boric acid.


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## Highbeam (Apr 10, 2012)

davmor said:


> http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/termidor-sc-p-184.html
> This is the stuff I use. I live in the woods too. No more ants around the house after I sprayed with this.


 

Great link! 

I have a couple more bottles of the now banned diazinon that works extremely well to kill any bug.


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## TradEddie (Apr 11, 2012)

yankeesouth said:


> Anyone have a good remedy for getting rid of carpenter ants? I can't seem to find the queen and have put everything from powders to foams trying to get them. I am about ready to call an exterminator. It’s a cabin in the woods so getting rid of old wood or wood piles is going to be next to impossible.


 
I circle the entire house with barrier insecticide every spring, and at least once more before the fall (to stop the spider invasion). Ordinary ant baits inside the house especially in the bathrooms to eliminate any that do get through.  Keep any tree branches away from touching the roof, and any dead wood away from the immediate area of the house.  They need water to survive, so they are attracted to bathrooms and other sources of water (leaks, condensation).

TE


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## semipro (Apr 11, 2012)

I think a bait might be most effective.  You don't have to go round spraying insecticides everywhere potentially creating other problems. 
Baits are available, one of which is boric acid as already mentioned.  The workers carry them back to the nest and feed them to the queen.  Killing the queen effectively kills the colony. 

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/dk1015.html

A related side note: when doing work on my house I add some boric acid  to wall cavities where bugs might hang out.  Boric acid is commonly sold as Roach Prufe and under other names as roach killers.  I've also dusted Carpenter Bee holes with boric acid with success.


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## maverick06 (Apr 18, 2012)

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/ant-bait-stations-c-1_244.html

I use the KM bait stations. They seem to work well. I am not using them against carpenter ants though. The stations arent cheap, but seem to be holding up well, This is their second year and are still perfect.

Using this bait:
http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/gourmet-liquid-ant-bait-32-oz-p-338.html

probably not perfect, but works. I have 4 around the house. 1 has been very active, and seems to be controlling (maybe not eliminating them). The others arent bust, even though there is light ant activity there.

I have used delta dust for something chewing the wood in the walls at a spot on the house. (you could hear the crunching). I drilled 1/8" holes between the studs for about 6 feet and pumped the dust in there then spackled over the holes. Killed whatever was in there. good stuff.


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## Dtunes (Apr 19, 2012)

I had them at my house and had exterminators come out after trying baits that claimed to kill carpenter ants.  The baits definitely helped to control them, but didn't eliminate them. I would be careful going after them with a spray unless your sure of the colony's location(where the queen is) and can get a clear shot quickly. From what I've been told if you don't get the queen they can scatter and form a new colony somewhere else in the house. If the ants have a big enough colony there will be little bits of saw dust with black specks accumulating in spots near the nest.  You might even hear a crunching sound from the location of their colony at night.

I'd suggest trying a lot of baits(be careful if you have dogs, they're usually made of peanut butter) and see how that goes.  If you can hear chomping in your walls or find saw dust you might want professional help.


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## heat seeker (Apr 19, 2012)

I had them so bad in one house that I could hear them, like Dtunes says. I located them in a corner post of the house. I cut a hole in the siding, and blew in moth flakes (like moth balls, only flakes). I loaded the area up pretty well. End of problem. It did smell in the house for a few days, but the ants were dead, and the flakes are not that poisonous and dissipated after a while. I was stunned at how much damage they did to the corner post. I closed up the siding and tried to forget what I saw. The house is still standing 30 years later.
My problem now is carpenter bees!


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## davmor (Apr 20, 2012)

Dtunes said:


> I had them at my house and had exterminators come out after trying baits that claimed to kill carpenter ants. The baits definitely helped to control them, but didn't eliminate them. I would be careful going after them with a spray unless your sure of the colony's location(where the queen is) and can get a clear shot quickly. From what I've been told if you don't get the queen they can scatter and form a new colony somewhere else in the house. If the ants have a big enough colony there will be little bits of saw dust with black specks accumulating in spots near the nest. You might even hear a crunching sound from the location of their colony at night.
> 
> I'd suggest trying a lot of baits(be careful if you have dogs, they're usually made of peanut butter) and see how that goes. If you can hear chomping in your walls or find saw dust you might want professional help.


The good thing about Termidor is you do not have to find the nest. If they come in contact with it they carry it back to the nest without knowing it, and kills all the ants.


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## ChipTam (Apr 22, 2012)

Do you know how you can tell if they're carpenter ants?  You put them under a microscope and look for the tiny little tool belts.


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## ivanhoe (Apr 23, 2012)

Read up on those suckers, the more educated will help you through this pesty problem. Boric acid was not effective for me and had to turn to a costly poison to rid of them.
good luck!


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## Jaugust124 (Apr 24, 2012)

Lots of good information at bugspray.com.   They have some good videos as well. They recommend using Drione dust.  i haven't personally used it, but it is supposed to be good stuff.  I've used the Terro ant dust with good results. I sprinkle it around the perimeter of the house 3-4 times per year.


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## yankeesouth (Apr 27, 2012)

Well....thanks for al the advice.  I have tried a few remedies mentioned.  I thought they worked until I saw dust at the spring thaw.  It' like v. those little bastages  I simply want them dead!


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