help -- winged carpenter ants!!

[mannybraff]

I have read all the postings about carpenter ants and have done research on WWW, but I'm at a loss. For two years in a row I've had dozens of winged carpenter ants in my living room and kitchen. I am certain they are ants and not termites. Everything I read says I have to follow them back to the nest so I can kill them. But these winged ants don't go back to the nest !! They don't go anywhere but wander around my living room. I followed one for two hours one night and finally gave up and killed him. I have put out the Advance and MaxForce bait, but never see these winged ants eating anything. I have watched in my living room for hours and can't spot where they are coming from. It's like they appear out of a black hole. I know my eyes are not the best (I'm 57 years old), but for two years I've never seen one actually crawling out from somewhere. And I very rarely see regular worker ants in my house -- the kind without wings -- just two or three in the past month. How in the world can I find the nest? I am ready to just give up and sell my house (not really, but I have that fantasy). And I'm sick of getting up at 2am to look around with a flashlight. These winged ants prefer 7pm to appear. I have a Carpenter Ant contract with Chemtec, but they are useless. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or MORAL SUPPORT. Manny

[trader4]

"I have a Carpenter Ant contract with Chemtec, but they are useless. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or MORAL SUPPORT. Manny "

I'd be calling them constantly till they get rid of them. That's what you're paying for. And if they can't, then fire them and get another company that knows what they are doing.

[Lar]

In article , [e-mail] says... :) I have read all the postings about carpenter ants and have done :) research on WWW, but I'm at a loss. For two years in a row I've had :) dozens of winged carpenter ants in my living room and kitchen. I am :) certain they are ants and not termites. Everything I read says I have :) to follow them back to the nest so I can kill them. But these winged :) ants don't go back to the nest !! They don't go anywhere but wander :) around my living room. I followed one for two hours one night and :) finally gave up and killed him. I have put out the Advance and :) MaxForce bait, but never see these winged ants eating anything. I have :) watched in my living room for hours and can't spot where they are :) coming from. It's like they appear out of a black hole. I know my :) eyes are not the best (I'm 57 years old), but for two years I've never :) seen one actually crawling out from somewhere. And I very rarely see :) regular worker ants in my house -- the kind without wings -- just two :) or three in the past month. How in the world can I find the nest? I :) am ready to just give up and sell my house (not really, but I have that :) fantasy). And I'm sick of getting up at 2am to look around with a :) flashlight. These winged ants prefer 7pm to appear. :) I have a Carpenter Ant contract with Chemtec, but they are useless. :) Thanks in advance for any suggestions or MORAL SUPPORT. :) Manny :) :) Make sure they are carpenter ants. Just because what your company said they were to make a sell doesn't mean they are. All ants will have a winged class. If your company is hired to get rid if the carpenter ants, insist on them finding the indoor nest. They can apply a product called Phantom indoors that works great on ants. When they treat the perimeter and areas they forage outside with Termidor you will not just get rid of the carp ant nest but keep all species of ants from finding their way in for about a year.

[Jim Ranieri]

Once they realize they are being tailed, they are given strict orders NOT to return to base. You will need to be more discreet.

[CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert]

IIRC winged ants are out for mating. I don't think they will return to the next. Follow a non-winged version.

[Duane Bozarth]

What makes you certain of this? I'd suspect termites ...(speaking from sad experience).

No, they're swarming, ready to form new colonies...they're the existing nest and like the polyp commercial says, they're looking for a new home....and it's going to be somewhere else in yours, no doubt. :(

No, while they're swarming, that's all they're doing...

...

What about a termite clause as well?

If this bunch of exterminators is incompetent, get rid of them and get somebody who is. If you've swarms of such magnitude for two years running, the amount of damage they've caused is probably quite considerable already. As for selling, there's no doubt in my mind you'd have to pay the remedial cost on closing or have to have it fixed before you'll ever get it sold anyway.

I'd be getting an independent verification and some serious complaints to the current outfit. I'd even go so far as to open up some wall areas where there are suspicious chances of moisture, etc., to evaluate the damage.

Whatever you do, do ignore it. It's likely you have some major damage already.

[Manny]

Well, Thanks for all the information. This is very discouraging. I have an exterminator coming on Thursday. If I have a nest in my house, which sounds VERY certain, why don't I see the "regular" ants? The ones without wings that eat and go looking for food? I have bait all over the place but never see any except the winged ants. Where are the regular ants going? Why don't they come inside where I can feed them the poison? Thanks, Manny

[CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert]

Lol. They are smart? Seriously though, do you have any trees overhanging your roof? And tree stumps close to your house? I would look for an external nest very near the house, or a nest in an open area of your roof or foundation. perhaps they dont normally come inside because its a long way to walk, but a short way to fly?

[Duane Bozarth]

Primarily because I doubt seriously you have ants but have termites.

[Norminn]

Termites "swarm" at a certain time of year, so I assume all ants do too. When termites swarm, they are not foraging for food - they are looking for mates to set up a new nest.

IF they are carpenter ants, they are not difficult to locate outdoors. They forage in the evening and follow paths to and from the nest. Most often nest in dead or rotting wood, such as damaged wood structure, dead tree or hedge limbs. Cleaning up dead branches and rotted wood around our condo got rid of them without using poison. Prior to that, some neighbors dumped bag after bag of poison around the property with no impact at all. Our carpenter ants were in damaged wood partition, rotted wood fence, and dead limbs in hedges which they hollowed out very effectively without killing living branches. Termites can gain entry through very fine cracks and crevices, such as uncaulked gaps around windows, plumbing entry, etc.