# I found a carpenter ant nest in a tree .... now what?



## velvetfoot (Jun 26, 2010)

The carpenter ants have been going up the side of the garage foundation and into the corner of the siding.  
Looking tonight, for the first time at night, I found a constant stream of ants going up and down a dead, or at least half dead tree.
I have a couple of Hot Shot liquid baits that I'm going to try.

Any suggestions other than bait for an infested tree?

Thanks.


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## gzecc (Jun 26, 2010)

I use an ant powder in a cylindrical can. Seems to work well


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## velvetfoot (Jun 26, 2010)

I just read the extremely fine print on the box:  will not control carpenter ants.  geez


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## mainstation (Jun 26, 2010)

Walk away and don't worry about it.


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## velvetfoot (Jun 26, 2010)

I might be able to cut it down and treat it once on the ground.
The ants are going way up in the tree.
I'm all for live and let live, but tree isn't terribly far from the house and they already tried, hopefully not successfully, to set up a satellite next in the garage.


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## golfandwoodnut (Jun 26, 2010)

If you cut it down and split it they will leave and you will have firewood.  They don't like being cracked out of their house and they will leave.


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## velvetfoot (Jun 26, 2010)

The tree is only about 8" or so in diameter, but it still looks pretty tall and it's leaning on another tree.
I'd actually prefer they became deceased, rather than relocate to another nearby tree or structure.


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## bpirger (Jun 26, 2010)

I live in the middle of the woods...I moved into the critter's territory.  I seem to constantly fight damned carpeter ants.  I had some white pine logs about 100' from the house, left over from my building the house.  The ants had made a huge nest inside the log.  Once I found them, I experiemted with them for a couple of weeks.

Every product I bought DID NOT WORK!  The baits.....I put many baits under the logs and looked every day.  The bait slowly disappeared...the ants did not.  The boarx powder:  I put powder...a lot of powder...under the logs and on the logs....they were white.  The ground was white.  And then over the next couple of days, there was a small pile of dead ants...as if they piled their dead.  But the vast majority just kept on working.  Funny to see many white ants walking all around!  The SpectraCide sprays, you know, kills on contact!  Did not kill on contact...though they didn't like it.

One day I drove to PA (I'm in NY) to buy the stuff you can't buy in NY.  Sprayed some ants...and they just kept going...though they seemed to move faster and wiggle for awhile, as if they are being burnt.  But then after a minute, they seemed to move on.  But I was spray happy and I had sprayed a lot, about 2 gallons worth!  The next morning I went out and looked and they were going nuts....then I noticed they were all across the yard, about 100 square feet or so, actively searching...towards the house.  So, the final battle had begun.  I took the chainsaw out and cut into the log.  I wish I had the picture here to post.  They had a true honeycomb structure about 2' long in the log.  Packed filed with huge larvae.   I then sprayed, literally poured the spray non-diluted on the honeycomb....they kept going.  So, since this HAD to end, I got a little gasoline.  Dumped it down the honeycomb (I had turn the log section upright), and BAM....instant death.   No fire, just the gas. I likely used one or two cups....about 50 cents tops.  Dead.

Then I sprayed another gallon or two of the juice across the yard where they were....and they all appeared to die within a couple of hours.  You could stand there and literally watch them squirming/dancing from the stuff.

So perhaps the spray works....eventually...and in huge quantities.  

If you know where they are coming from, if I were you, I'd make SURE to kill that nest.  They swarm out looking....they have winged ants every now and then that fly off...wicked buggers.  If you have to drop the tree, drop it.  If you can somehow gas them in place and save the tree (is that possible?), try it.  Given that they are clearly in your structure, I wouldn't mess around with insecticides....I'd use gas.  No match.  Just gas.

Ever since I removed that nest, we see MUCH FEWER in the house (over 100' away).  I never did see a trail...so many hours looking afterdark on warm nights.  Sometimes I still think I must have a colony in the house somewhere.  I removed sections of drywall looking.  I drilled holes and sprayed...NEVER found any sign of them.

When I built the house, I filled a corner with extruded polystyrene when framing becuase I wasn't going to be able to get back in their with fiberglass.  Within a year, I had carpenter ants living in the polystyrene.  In that, I did drill a bunch of 0.5" holes and sprayed gallons of the insectide....I actually redrilled back in their last fall looking...nothing.  Damned buggers to find.....

Don't mess around....and don't delay.   I sometimes wonder if they are destroying a truss.  No leaks, new contruction, no wetness....which is what they like....so where are they?  Damned if I know.  And soon I will be covering the house with pine or cedar siding.  I really want to make sure they are gone!

Good luck!


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## velvetfoot (Jun 26, 2010)

Thanks for the info.
I had carpenter ants in some delivered firewood at my last place and I experimented with stuff and nothing killed them quickly.
I too am in the woods and the builder left logs laying around too.  In fact I found a satellite nest in one of those downed trees.

I found this nest, hopefully the main one since it has a lot of traffic, tonight on my first try.  So, maybe it's really not the main nest.

Messing around with gasoline seems a little dangerous, but I'm game.  Did you ever wind up spraying with a hand sprayer?  I wonder if kerosene would work (a little safer), probably longer-lasting stinkiness.

Since they're more active in the evening, I wonder what their reaction would be if I took down the tree, then started spraying, something or other.


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## bpirger (Jun 26, 2010)

Yes, I always used the pumping hand sprayer.  I'd buy the concentrated stuff and spray.  First as directed, then with less dilution, then even less....and they just don't seem to die!   No fire required here....just the gas alone.  I wouldn't dump gas on my house....but next time I find a nest, I won't be wasting time with chemicals.

By the way, the chemicals work great on the smaller sugar ants (or whatever they are called).  Kills them instantly.  But the big ones just don't seem to die!

Back in my experimentation days, one night I went out and gave the log a kick.  HAd a flashlight.  It was amazing, becuase within 30 seconds the end of the log was covered with a moving black mass....hundreds or thousands of big ants just flying out of many holes....(not literally flying...though they do that too!)  The very next afternoon, I went back out to the log, gave it a kick....NOTHING.  Where did they all go?  This log was about 10' from the main nest.  Just amazing critters actually.

Whenever I am felling wood, if I come across ants, I'll leave those rounds out in the woods.  Seems like the usually leave the rounds within a day or two....  Every now and then you split a crotch or something and come across a bunch.  I always move those a good distance away as well.   I also try and spray around the foundation starting in the spring and a couple of times during the summer/fall.  Not sure if it helps or not...but it is a constant battle!


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## Shari (Jun 26, 2010)

We came across a carpenter ant nest when cleaning out my Dad's detached garage.  The nest was in (of all things) one of those styrofoam bead filled 'hot seats' like deer hunters use to sit on out in the woods.  Well anyway, we put the 'hot seat' into a wheelbarrow and dumped it in the garden.  Poured gasoline on it.  Lit it.  Did you know ants can scream?  Got'em! 

Shari


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## billb3 (Jun 26, 2010)

velvetfoot said:
			
		

> The carpenter ants have been going up the side of the garage foundation and into the corner of the siding.
> Looking tonight, for the first time at night, I found a constant stream of ants going up and down a dead, or at least half dead tree.
> I have a couple of Hot Shot liquid baits that I'm going to try.
> 
> ...



Up and down the  outside of the tree could just be a tree they are farming the aphids and other  bugs on.
They very well could have thier nest inside that tree, going in and out at the base - it could also be in a structure or tree 50 feet away. With a well worn path about an inch or two wide in the grass or leaves - sometimes covered from the heat of the sun.

I've spread a bait around the bases of all the oak trees near my house hoping they carry enough of it back.
To wherever.


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## velvetfoot (Jun 26, 2010)

Thanks for the tips.

The ants were still going up and down the tree this morning, though not as many as in the evening.

I went on a shopping trip and wound up getting some Amdro Ant Block; it is a bait.
I figure I'll try that around the tree and see how it works over a period of days.
Hopefully it won't rain too soon.

I was all set to take down the tree today.  The ants (& queen) would probably escape even if I did try to soften them up by spraying the trunk to some height.
Wish me luck.


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## velvetfoot (Jun 26, 2010)

Well, they don't appear to be wildly attracted to the bait.
Still hoping for the best.


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## vvvv (Jun 26, 2010)

call the local unversity & ask


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## velvetfoot (Jun 26, 2010)

Well, they weren't biting at the bait at all so I sprayed it with what I had - some ant killer by Spectracide.
I'll keep an eye on it in the evening.


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## dave11 (Jun 27, 2010)

I've had them twice in the framing of my house--once in a rim joist, and once in a top plate for the second floor, twenty feet above ground.

Here's what I learned--first, resist the urge to kill them right away. You need to patiently watch and follow them, to figure out exactly where they are coming and going from. There's always a steady stream of traffic to and from a nest, but as for the trees, they might just be gathering honeydew. 

Second, killing the ones you see in the open is worthless. The queen just lays more eggs to replace the ones you killed. You absolutely need to find the nest(s) and spread bait around them, unless you can access the nest yourself and spray everything inside it. 

Third, the bait you can buy at the store is worthless for carpenters. You need to get the bait containing Abamectin--it is the only one you can get easily that works for carpenters. I think you can still get it online. Spread a little fresh bait each day as close to the nest as you can get it. Within a couple of days, the ants should disappear.


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## dave11 (Jun 27, 2010)

Also, if you saw regular traffic going under the siding, you can be certain there's a nest there. Do not seal the entrance, or the ants will appear all over inside the structure. Sprinkle bait at the bottom of the wall, where the ants are sure to come across it as they come down from the nest.


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## velvetfoot (Jun 27, 2010)

Thanks.  Bait definitely sounds like the way to go. The Amdro at HD sounded good.  It was the only bait there for carpenter ants.  It was just that they walked over it and didn't seem particularly interested...at that point anyway.  I'll check out the web I guess.

At the very least, if I keep at it I'm discouraging them.


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## newstove (Jun 27, 2010)

velvetfoot said:
			
		

> Thanks.  Bait definitely sounds like the way to go. The Amdro at HD sounded good.  It was the only bait there for carpenter ants.  It was just that they walked over it and didn't seem particularly interested...at that point anyway.  I'll check out the web I guess.
> 
> At the very least, if I keep at it I'm discouraging them.



I have found that the Amdro stuff at HD actually does work on them, if you give it time, and put down LOTS of it.

I had a nest, and sprinkled an entire container around the affected area.  For a few days - nothing, they just kept walking past.  Then one morning I came out, and there were thousands of dead ants everywhere, and I never saw them again.

*shrug* Your mileage may vary - but it worked in my one isolated case.


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## RobC (Jun 27, 2010)

Boraxo powder ( 20 Mule Team ) and sugar. Mix 50/50 in a plastic bag, cut small corner off bag and dribble a solid line around your house for example or around your wood pile. DON'T use where you want things to grow like across the middle of your lawn or in the middle of you garden.
Rob


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## velvetfoot (Jun 28, 2010)

Well, maybe I'll give it another whirl.


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## b33p3r (Jun 28, 2010)

Check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhBiqJLZz7U&feature=related


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## jimmie ray (Jun 28, 2010)

When we first moved into our house, there was an extreme infestation of Carpenter ants in all the trees and fencing. The local nursery had some milky stuff that I sprayed on everything, and we haven't had these type of ants since. That was 20 years ago, and the guy at the nursery said that product was soon to be banned for sale to homeowners. The ants we do have now are tiny, build colonies in concrete cracks, and stream up the house siding to our attic (to nest?). Hundreds of dollars to the exterminator did nothing, nor did any barriers, baits, or poisons I tried. Gas (unburnt) on the ant hills, and several Raid foggers in the attic are the only thing that deters them, but they do come back each year.


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## FLINT (Jun 28, 2010)

RobC said:
			
		

> Boraxo powder ( 20 Mule Team ) and sugar. Mix 50/50 in a plastic bag, cut small corner off bag and dribble a solid line around your house for example or around your wood pile. DON'T use where you want things to grow like across the middle of your lawn or in the middle of you garden.
> Rob



This works! 

actually, what my wife does, is mix borax and sugar and water in a small dish and leave a piece of paper towl soaked in the solution and half sticking out if it, to give the ants access to the solution - the ants come eat it and take it back to the next to feed the queen and young - then they all die.  The borax just shreds their internals.  

we live in the woods and have plenty of carpenter ants in some of the trees around the yard.  this is the first year that we tried the borax and sugar - and this is the first year that we haven't seen any carpenter ants in the house - at all.  

it also got rid of the little ants that would come in the kitchen.


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