How do you get rid of Carpenter Ants?
 

I hear they are pretty hard to get rid of. I thought I'd ask here before I go to the do it yourself store.

Thanks

Danny

I've had luck with boric acid put in the active areas. either that or Dessicate silicate (think of the stuff you see in new shoes in that little packet or in beef Jerkey) either one I've had luck with keeping ants away. works usually for bees too

Hide their tiny little tool belts . . .

Get the boric acid in the big containers. Forget fooling around with the tiny traps or their variations.

and spread it around the perimeter of your structure. I would also trim any plants or shrubs that touch the house.

Nail'em to a cross.

threaten to unionize 'em

I'd seek professional help if I were you. I've never had them, but a neighbor of mine had them set up camp in his poorly ventilated and inaccessible attic area where condensation moisture was accumulating in the summer time. He tried traps and borates and bait and I don't know what all, but the queen just kept cranking out new drones. It cost thousands to finally rip into the attic and kill the nest and repair the moisture damage and properly vent the space.

Danny -

Are you sure they are carpenter ants? We have a black ant ( forget the name ) that every so often invades us at night and usually disappears by day- but its not a carpenter ant. I don't know how to get rid of them, but they don't do any damage, just a pain from time to time.

Carpenter ants are attracted to damp/wet wood. If the source of moisture is eliminated the ants will move on.

I've had a problem with ants and have found two solutions. First I used 1 part Boric acid to 10 parts sugar. Mix it together then ad a little water to the mixture to make a lumpy paste. Put the mixture near the ants. The ants will carry the sweetness back to the queen. Keep out of reach of household pets and kids.

For common tiny household piss ants, I've used baby powder. Evidently baby powder clogs the ant's breathing apparatus. I found where the ants were coming and sprinkled the baby powder in their path. The will not cross it. Sprinkle a little on the ants and they die instantly. Stuff is like voodoo powder to ants.

Okay, smart guy. What if they rise from the dead after that, THEN what?!

Deny, deny, deny!

Start a new religion.

Find out what they are eating! I have seen them turn walls to sawdust!:eek:

So, would a war on ants be called an "antebellum"?

Call I.C.E. Most will run for the weeds.

Carpenters RUN? C'mon now, don't take this discussion into the realm of un-believability.

Now you could open up a "Gentleants show club" next door. They'll still come to your house early in the morning but disappear the minute the queen decides they need to get to work.

Excellent!

I'm glad to see that there is still some silliness yet to be enjoyed on this forum. I was beginning to despair . . .

What would you call the leader? The ANT-ichrist?

Sunny day + magnifying glass

Fire Marshall: "How'd the fire start?"

Fire Inspector: "As best we can tell, it was started with a big magnifying glass over there near that scorched anthill."

Horny Toads eat them, But there are no horny toads that are gonna come to Fla.

Aerosols are the most popular product to fight ants. They kill insects just in 2-3 hours. Gels are more effective. They act more slowly, but they destroy not only workers but all other ants too. Here are some useful tips to get rid of them. Hope it will come in handy.

Carpenter ants are NOT sugar ants, the controls are different.


The first thing you want to do is to attempt to locate their nest. This isn't often easy, as the main nest can have several satellite nests. If you manage to find the nest, you need to remove as much of it as you can. It's tough if they've made a home in a structural member, but removal is always the best first step. You also have to check for areas in and around your home where water might accumulate, and fix those areas. A common place for them to hide is behind the gutters, where there are wooden eaves as well as moisture.



As far as chemical controls, carpenter ants have appetite for different things at different times of the year, and depending on their reproductive cycle. Sometimes they go for sweet stuff, sometimes for protein. When they are in their "sweet" cycle, I've found the best product to be Terro ant bait, which can be found at HD. If you can get them to feed off of a Terro trap, the nest will die in a couple of days. If they are in a "protein" cycle, you can try Advance carpenter ant bait. This may not be available for homeowner application, depending on what state you are in.



There are specialized carpenter ant sprays as well. Unfortunately, you would need to saturate your home. A carpenter ant spray is typically applied heavily all around the home just above ground level. They are for outdoor use only, and they are fairly persistent chemicals. Unfortunately, this will have no effect if the ants have found a damp spot at the roof level. In that case, you will need to spray the roof and eaves as well. Sprays are generally less effective than bait traps. Personally, I find it's MUCH preferable to use baits.

Watch out. They will eat the cross.

When we lived in Ca we were in the forest and Carpenter ants (and bees) were a constant problem. I would follow the trails 500' through the forest until they disappeared onto the neighbors property. I tried every bait, dia earth, etc and nothing worked. I would just methodically spray the trails as far as I could. As we moved out there was sawdust coming out of the wood ceiling.

Sounds like he had to do the tear down anyway.
Just as they tent houses for termites the same will kill ants in an attic.

May be the same ingredient as in baby powder.
https://richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp

I bought a pound or so on eBay. The problem was the Ants have to walk over it. In my house (plaster walls) the Ants find some crack above the floor line or come in around the windows, bathroom and kitchen cabinets. No really good place to sprinkle powder.

"When sprinkled on a bug that has an exoskeleton (such as bed bugs, ants or fleas) it compromises their waxy coating so that their innards turn into teeny tiny bug jerky. But it doesn't hurt mammals. We can eat it. We do eat it! It's in lots of grain based foods because lots of grains are stored with diatomaceous earth to keep the bugs from eating the grain!"

I also read in another source concerning Cockroaches if you mix it in food and put it out the Roaches eat it and eventually die some where as it messes with their innards. When other bugs come to eat the dead they also ingest it and it kills again and again.
If you own an apartment building they generally have Roaches. You can spread the Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) without worry of toxicity. There is an issue if it gets in your eyes some what like getting dirt in your eyes.


People mix it in Pet food as it also is supposed to kill worms.

They say you can dust your pet's body down with it and it kills fleas. I tried that with my Cats and it was difficult to apply it and you need to avoid their Eyes. Also several days later they were still scratching. Did not appear to work well.

If a Carpenter runs and has his tool belt on you are likely to find he as a "plumber’s butt".

Never thought we had them up here in eastern Canada. There still is an ant specis that eats wood or makes passages through it here. Larger than common ants by several fold.


I have eliminated any moisture source and this has seemed to work in the few cases I have encountered them. As mentioned they probably just moved along.

Bingo, you can get big bags at tractor supply. Keeps the mites out of my chicken coop.

Keep the beer under lock and key.

An old cartoon: Man says to woman: 'Yup, you've got carpenter ants. See those tiny beer cans?'

Last summer we moved my mother and one box of papers had for some reason become a nest for carpenter ants. I took it out on the driveway and dumped everything out to sort out what was worth saving. It was a hot day, mid 90s, and the ants did not deal well with the sun and the heat. Killed all of them in short order. Not that this helps the question that much.

Around here, tiny Argentine ants make life tough on the much larger carpenter ant. I saw it one time, they just swarm the suckers.

You don't want to breathe diatomaceous earth powder. It's not in talcum powder.

Pour some oil, it will not just rid the ants it will also preserve the wood.

I use my used motor oil around my house and garage to kill grass and weeds,so I don't need a weedeater.Insects stay away also,I used spider mite spray ( real stinky) to rid home of roaches and ants years ago.It killed all,and never came back