We have droppings in one corner downstairs.
Thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
Dwight Gibb
What are the other color choices?
I am also interested in knowing the answer to the original question. My daughter in law is expecting and I have been discouraging them from using any pesticides around their home to deal with carpenter ants, looking instead for a "green" method also.
Any knowledgeable people out there.....?
Thanks in advance,
Smarty
One: Locate the nest, use an ant-specific insecticide and cut off their source of water. Repair/replace damaged studs, sill plate, paneling/drywall, siding, etc.. Two: I don't know. Three: Of course, but I'd just use the conventional chemicals commercially available to the public, and follow the manufacturer's instructions. HTH. Tom
The expecting mother should consult her doctor. Let him give her advice. The doctor may want her out of the house while ANY treatment is applied.
Droppings? How about the ants themselves? Can you describe what and where you found signs of carpenter ants?
Carpenter ants here in FL tend to favor damaged wood, either structural or landscape. They have a tendancy to move into termite tunnels. The begin foraging around dusk, so it is relatively easy to find their nests. They will come indoors to find food, but our problems with carpenter ants were almost entirely due to neglected landscaping and structural wood. When things were cleaned up and repaired, they declined. Only one unit in our condo that I know of had them indoors. We had rotted/damaged wood in our roof and siding - they will also nest in hollows in trees, so overhanging branches should be kept clear of roofs (also so they don't beat on the roof in wind).
A couple of people in the condo had used large amounts insecticide specific for caprenter ants, with little or no effect. Getting rid of dead wood, caulking openings around doors, windows, and plumbing, and repairing damaged wood are methods that are about as green as it gets. Pest control folks don't use those methods.
Define knowledgeable* - I've never run across the word before. ;)
The site you linked to has some very intelligent advice, mixed in with some real goof-ball notions. Mix orange juice with carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide? Drench outdoor nests with Coca Cola, or orange juice mixed with dish soap? Plain water mixed with dish soap will drown lots of insects, including beneficial stuff like earthworms. It is fascinating to watch carpenter ants poring out of their nests carrying larvae when you try that one.
Planting mint? Sure-fire cure........you will forget the carpenter ants by next year and wonder how in h--- to get rid of the mint that has taken over the yard :o)
Don't let the neighbors see you when you are up a ladder sprinkling talcum powder inside the voids in trees. And don't spill any talcum powder on the rungs of the ladder :o)
How do you stop the rain?
Lay sod :-)
You may have termites which is a more serious long term problem. If possible, replace the studs in contact with the ground with either pressure-treated lumber (a process in which the wood is treated with a copper naphthenate solution which renders the wood inedible to insects, it is non-volitile and harmless to anything that doesn't try to eat the wood.), or alternately, cedar or redwood which is naturally bug-resistant. Go to the library and get books on how to do your own bug inspection, you may have to move the family out while the house is being treated by a contractor. If your home is fairly new and has a warranty, now is the time to use it. Best wishes on dealing with the problem, but you should deal with it, it won't go away by itself.- Jitney
Log on
Flamethrower?
Very true!
You would have seen them if it was ants, termites you rarely see.
On Jun 27, 2:00=A0pm, Dwight wrote:
I am not an expert in this area. I just happened to have carpenter ants problem in my house several years ago.
According to articles that I found in the internet, the key to prevent carpenter ants to get into our house are two things: (1) Fix any water damaged wood (2) Setup a barrier to prevent them from getting inside the house.
The idea is that carpenter ants like to live in water damaged wood because the wood is softer and easier for them to dig holes. Therefore, we should look around the house to see any water damage near gutter, downsprout, roof edge...etc.
Still, carpenter ants will go inside the house to look for food although they may not want to stay. Therefore, we need to setup a barrier to prevent them from getting inside. We need to trim the tree and vegetation around the house to make sure they don't touch the house. I used to see a row of carpenter ants marching to the roof of my house through a tree branch that was touching the roof. We need to spray some chemical around the house foundation to prevent them from getting inside the house. Please note that some states don't allow us to buy those chemicals, we will have to hire a licensed professional to do this (that is how I do), or find other chemicals that we can legally use but may or may not be as effective (never try any). Still don't be surprised to see carpenter ants still find their way inside the house. I have people sprayed the house foundation; but carpenter ants found a way to get inside my house through the inside of the downsprout as their super highway (obviously there is no point for us to spray inside the downsprout). Moreover, wind-driven rain will wash away the chemical in areas of the house foundation that is not fully protected from the elements. Improperly located sprinklers will also wash away the chemical. Hand spraying water to the flower bed near the house foundation can also wash away the chemical if we spray carelessly (especially if you have your inlaw to look after the flower bed). In this case, a drip irrigation system is a better chance. This means you may still find carpenter ant inside the house. Luckily for me, chemical barrier seems to work very well as long as I can find any break in the barrier (like the downsprout mentioned above).
Hope this helps.
Jay Chan
Proper flashing. Tom
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