# carpenter ants in my wood pile!



## par0thead151 (Mar 9, 2010)

so i found some dormant carpenter ants in my wood pile(its in my garage!) tonight.
i proceeded to go through every piece of wood, and pitch any that may be rotten in the slightest bit or have the characteristic holes that carpenter ants make.
I am still concerned about these buggers infesting my home and destroying my wood.
my house was built in 2000 and should be made with all treated wood, but i still am concerned.
i have some ant poison down(the type where you leave a drop on a pad and they eat the stuff and bring it back to their nest.

is there anything else i can do to alleviate my concerns about the carpenter ants?

i vacuumed my entire garage to make sure i can notice them if they are still present.

to clarify, i found 10-20 ants either dead or dormant on some of my wood. not my entire pile.

all questionable pieces of wood have been pulled from the pile and are stored outside well away from my home(will be removed tomorow to a outside burn pit).

am i being overly paranoid?


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## ansehnlich1 (Mar 9, 2010)

Great reason to NOT store wood in the home.

Did ya get all the wood out of there yet? I'd NEVER store firewood in my garage or basement. I only bring a load at a time in, and have a tupperware tote full at the most as backup when it's cold outside.

Close up the garage and unload a can or two of ant killer if you want to, let it closed for a day or two, that might give you some satisfaction.

Keep an eye out for the buggers the next couple months.


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## quads (Mar 9, 2010)

Stack your firewood away from the house until it's seasoned and ready to burn.  The carpenter ants (and other bugs) go away quickly during that time.  I only bring well-seasoned ready to burn wood near/in the house and never find a carpenter ant in any of it, and rarely a bug of any kind.


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## DiscoInferno (Mar 9, 2010)

Your interior wood framing is almost certainly not treated.  Still, you probably are fine.  If they weren't just strays the nest was probably in one of the splits you got rid of.  They are too slow to destroy your firewood, so don't worry about that.  Just watch for ants come spring/summer.

We had a problem last summer with carpenter ants nesting somewhere in the framing of our front porch roof in Michigan.  We used the ant dust/powder all over their trails, had a growing pile of bodies by the post they were using for access.  Left some baits in the house for good measure, those guys will roam all over the place.  Won't know till we get back this summer if we got them all.  Not firewood related at all, seemed to be a satellite colony from some old stump or another at the edge of the woods nearby.


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## btuser (Mar 9, 2010)

Carpenter ants like wet wood.  That's what I've been told.  I have a wood ring that holds about 3 days worth of wood right next to the stove, other than that its kept under cover outside.


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## savageactor7 (Mar 9, 2010)

All life needs water so don't store any wood inside until it's thoroughly seasoned.


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## par0thead151 (Mar 9, 2010)

DiscoInferno said:
			
		

> Your interior wood framing is almost certainly not treated.  Still, you probably are fine.  If they weren't just strays the nest was probably in one of the splits you got rid of.  They are too slow to destroy your firewood, so don't worry about that.  Just watch for ants come spring/summer.
> 
> We had a problem last summer with carpenter ants nesting somewhere in the framing of our front porch roof in Michigan.  We used the ant dust/powder all over their trails, had a growing pile of bodies by the post they were using for access.  Left some baits in the house for good measure, those guys will roam all over the place.  Won't know till we get back this summer if we got them all.  Not firewood related at all, seemed to be a satellite colony from some old stump or another at the edge of the woods nearby.




all my wood will be burned within a month.
i have 8'X4' pile left.

i doubt i brought in a "colony" just a few pieces that had dormant ants in it.
still enough reason for concern though. i have a LOT of poison down so if they try to feed on that they are going to be DRT.
i am watching this pile like a hawk until the wood is burned.
what is the powder called that is used to track their movement?
thanks


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 9, 2010)

par0thead151 said:
			
		

> is there anything else i can do to alleviate my concerns about the carpenter ants?
> 
> i vacuumed my entire garage to make sure i can notice them if they are still present.
> 
> am i being overly paranoid?



A terrible thing to find in one's garage! You are not being overly paranoid at all.

The terro that is liquid and you place on some cardboard does not seem to do much of anything for carpenter ants; at least we have had no luck with it. However, terro does make a powder that you can put indoors or outdoors; it is waterproof and is supposed to work for 6 months. 

Head to your local hardware fast and get some of that stuff. If I were you I would put some along every wall (you can actually throw some on the wall so you get up a foot or so off the ground with it) of the house and garage and add as necessary. It doesn't cost that much for some cheap insurance so keep some on hand at all times. 

No doubt you learned a lesson here and hopefully it won't cost you dearly. Those things can be hard to get rid of. Good luck.


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## par0thead151 (Mar 9, 2010)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> par0thead151 said:
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indeed i learned something...
in my defense i am a 1st year wood  burner. so my seasoned wood supply is non existent. i have started on this winters supply so i should be OK for next year. do those sprays that you do along a perimeter of a home to keep pests out, work well on carpenter ants?
i have read that carpenter ants are nocturnal, i assume this means night time is the best time do do recon to make sure i do not have a problem and it was as i assumed, just a few strays in a few splits.


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 9, 2010)

We have had practically no luck with the sprays against carpenter ants. They are tough buggers.

The best thing I found to get rid of them are some wild turkeys! Yes, I got some to clean up a bunch of them one time. It was funny, but it worked.


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## vvvv (Mar 9, 2010)

Will a bugbomb kill carpenter ants?


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 9, 2010)

I'm not sure it would kill them or not but it certainly will send them scurrying away.


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## webie (Mar 9, 2010)

Go to HD and get yourself a big bag of diaznon. Get  it in there lawn and garden department , I think its about a 20 lb bag the big size . I use a coffee can and drilled a bunch of 3/8 holes in the cover , I use this as a sprinkler . I have used it around my camper and around my wood piles and my home .  It looks about like damp sawdust .


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## par0thead151 (Mar 9, 2010)

webie said:
			
		

> Go to HD and get yourself a big bag of diaznon. Get  it in there lawn and garden department , I think its about a 20 lb bag the big size . I use a coffee can and drilled a bunch of 3/8 holes in the cover , I use this as a sprinkler . I have used it around my camper and around my wood piles and my home .  It looks about like damp sawdust .



what does it do?


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## webie (Mar 9, 2010)

This is straight off the bag , Kills insects that damage lawns and vegetable gardens , Kills insects above and below the ground such as ants fleas ticks chiggars cinch bugs clover mites cutworms wireworms mole crickets root magots sod webworms and other unwanted insects .  The list goes on on the back side of the bag  , interesting includes Japanese beetle  and  fleas. I run into alot of carperter ants when I cut , when in doubt that wood stays in the woods , we use that in a burn pit where I cut . I have had signs of ants here and there and when I see them out comes this around the perimeter of the house . Have even sprinkled it on the wood pile . I treat any time I see any signs , One ant is a sign .  Its says it last up to three weeks If I see a sign again I sprinkle again ussually 2  or 3 times and thats it for the year . Where I use to have my camper it was terrible and this took care of it . 
Oh by the way 20lbs covers 10,000 sq feet . I think this bag is about 10 years old , but I am sure they still have it .


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## DiscoInferno (Mar 9, 2010)

The powder we used wasn't for tracking, it was the stuff Dennis is talking about.  This winter it was still easily visible on surfaces so it really does stick around.

I did the "tracking" manually; I watched a train of ants march along our walk up to the porch, and then up the post.


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## par0thead151 (Mar 10, 2010)

DiscoInferno said:
			
		

> The powder we used wasn't for tracking, it was the stuff Dennis is talking about.  This winter it was still easily visible on surfaces so it really does stick around.
> 
> I did the "tracking" manually; I watched a train of ants march along our walk up to the porch, and then up the post.



i have the powder down around the perimeter of my house, especially the garage.
the wood pile is also surrounded. this place is locked down tighter than GITMO!
i also burned the last of the "questionable wood" tonight.
now i just need to toss the stuff i put in my pickup truck into a burn pit where i get my wood from. and kill it with fire, as its the only way to be sure!

thanks all for the advice. hopefully it will be the last time i ask for info regarding these pests.


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## Wood Duck (Mar 10, 2010)

In the early spring you can expect carpenter ants to be out roaming around. Unless you have a colony, which is very unlikely, i think, in splits of firewood, you just have a few ants who woke up lost and are searching for their colony. They won't find it, and a few ants aren't really going to do any damage. The danger with these wandering ants is when they are scouts for a new colony. It takes a lot of ants and a long time to do damage to the house. They can definitely do a lot of damage, but they're slow. houses that are badly damaged get that way because ants were in there for a couple of years, at least. I have been told by an exterminator that Carpenter Ants are very hard to kill with pesticides, partially because they stay hidden in the wood a lot of the time, and pesticide doesn't get into the wood very easily. I agree with the others who have said that all you need to do it keep most of the wood outside. I'd skip the pesticides - you'll get a much bigger dose than the ants ever will.


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## zzr7ky (Mar 10, 2010)

Hi - 

Ordinary Borax sprinkled around the door openings and foundation will keep black ants at bay.  It kills the microbes that they need to digest the wood; so they starve.  
IIRC a Borate solution is what the 'Terro' brand ant baits use.   It's not the fastest way but it works.


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## par0thead151 (Mar 10, 2010)

zzr7ky said:
			
		

> Hi -
> 
> Ordinary Borax sprinkled around the door openings and foundation will keep black ants at bay.  It kills the microbes that they need to digest the wood; so they starve.
> IIRC a Borate solution is what the 'Terro' brand ant baits use.   It's not the fastest way but it works.




im not worried at all now, i have the bait drops out, the powder along my foundation and anything wooden in my garage. 
the wood that had signs of carpenter ants is now all burned up. i will burn every last piece in my pile before replenishing it though... just to be sure.


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## Tony H (Mar 10, 2010)

It would be very unusual if your house was built with treated wood mostly the deck and the sill cap would be treated but the rest would be regular pine or fir.
The diazinon , dursban, type stuff was removed from the market years ago but the current mixes from ortho (Bug Be Gone) and others are very good. We go thru a bag a year or more at our house because the soil is sandy we have lots of ants and I sprinkle a barrier all around the house and it does very well keeping the ants and other bugs out. For inside the terro powder works well it's just alot more expensive


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## Battenkiller (Mar 10, 2010)

zzr7ky said:
			
		

> Ordinary Borax sprinkled around the door openings and foundation will keep black ants at bay.  It kills the microbes that they need to digest the wood; so they starve.



Ants don't eat wood, termites do.  Ants excavate tunnels in the wood and nest in them.  Of course, they do quite a lot of damage either way.

I have on a few occasions brought in ants that were nesting in a funky piece of wood.  They only take overnight inside to get quite lively, but I can't imagine them leaving the nest to start another somewhere in your house.  Plus, the firewood will be moister than the framing lumber inside a heated home, which usually gets down to about 6% MC in the dead of winter.  As mentioned, ants like wetter wood over the dryer stuff.  An invasion is more likely to occur from outside the home in the springtime wet weather.

In my experience, standard insecticide sprays are almost instantaneous in killing them, but you need to spray directly on the nest.  Wasp sprays that come out in a stream are the weapon of choice, but in most cases I just found the chunk with the nest and tossed it far away because I didn't want to spray in the house if I could help it.  The stragglers probably ended up in the stove at some point.


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## DanCorcoran (Mar 10, 2010)

I've found that napalm takes care of both ants and termites (all varieties).


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## Battenkiller (Mar 10, 2010)

DanCorcoran said:
			
		

> I've found that napalm takes care of both ants and termites (all varieties).



Ya know, you just can't get decent napalm these days.  I've been using Willy Pete on the critters, and it's a close second.


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## BrotherBart (Mar 11, 2010)

webie said:
			
		

> Go to HD and get yourself a big bag of diaznon. Get  it in there lawn and garden department , I think its about a 20 lb bag the big size . I use a coffee can and drilled a bunch of 3/8 holes in the cover , I use this as a sprinkler . I have used it around my camper and around my wood piles and my home .  It looks about like damp sawdust .



Diazinon has been banned for almost a decade. That stuff will mess you up.


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## PapaDave (Mar 14, 2010)

Just went outside to move some splits off the ground. They were there from wood I had stacked 2 years ago, and didn't bother putting anything underneath.
I found 2 splits that had several tunnels where the carpenter ants had burrowed for the winter. This wood was pretty damp. I just banged them out of there and set the splits off the ground to dry. I'll keep an eye on 'em before they come in the house. Once the moisture in the wood goes away, these guys won't hang around.


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## webie (Mar 14, 2010)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> webie said:
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 Holy crap I am going to cherish the rest that I have left .


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## TvSteve (Mar 15, 2010)

I found the box store bug sprays to be useless. The EPA made sure that we don't hurt ourselves. After moving to upstate NY 9 years ago I was constantly fighting carpenter ants. Lots of standing dead pine in the properties around our house. Tried everything but an exterminator. A friend told me to try a product called Talstar. Picked it up on ebay. That was 3 years ago, spray the perimeter every couple months and not a one inside. Now with the new woodstove I installed last year I keep the sprayer close by the splitter, just in case. Also spray around the wood stacks. Repair any water leaks, roof or foundation, cut overhanging branches and shrubs from the house and keep firewood off the ground. I have actually seen ants climbing a tree, over a branch and drop down to the roof. Guess they learned from squirrels.  
BTW just about everything I learned about wood burning was from here. I started reading this forum a year ago after deciding it wasn't  worth freezing all winter. Got a Lopi installed last August. Best thing I ever bought, and I'm 61.

Steve


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## woodsmaster (Mar 15, 2010)

If the interior of the garage is not finished you can spray the wood with timbor. It's a borax solution that prevents all wood infesting insects from infesting. this is only for prevention and a more expensive solution
is used for an infestation. If I were building a new house I would use Timbor on the floore joists sub floore and at least 2' up the bottom of wall and anywere else that could see moisture. 
I will be spraying the bottom of the walls on my new shop. ( floore will be a slab) Could probably do a whole house for a few hundred.


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## JerseyWreckDiver (Mar 15, 2010)

Alright, don't go diving off a cliff to kill the spider on your shoulder... There's no need, at all, to go spreading poison all over your house. They're ants not the plague. If they've been in your garage and haven't woke up already they are probably all dead. Even if they're not. They are typical workers, they don't start new colonies. The swarmer's you see in the first warm days of spring, the ones with wings on them, are the ones that go out to start a new colony as a king/queen. Besides, even if all the previous was a lie, they only nest in, not eat, soft/wet/rotting wood. So unless you have leaks and water penetration into your framing they would not be able to do anything. The scouts people usually see walking around their houses are scouting for food sources, not new nesting places.

As has been said. NEVER store wood in, up against, or near your house.


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## DiscoInferno (Mar 15, 2010)

They prefer wet wood, but they can and will nest in dry wood.  Google suggests that the main nest will usually be damp, but that satellite nests might not be.  So while a few ant sightings shouldn't induce panic, don't ignore a steady stream of them in your house either.


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