# Carpenter Ants, just since bad weather?



## bob the builder (Jan 17, 2006)

Usually you can find where they are living just by watching where they travel.


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## R Parker (Apr 13, 2006)

so far, mostly they've just wandered around in the middle of the floor...Mom usually kills them before they have a chance to travel anywhere  she has a thing about 'cleanliness' and they 'offend her sense of rightness'. She is about to freak about the fact that they are in the house! If I don't figure a way to get them out soon, she is gonna have a <screaming hissy fit>  . Have you ever heard the old saying 'floors so clean you could eat off them'? With my Mom, it's literally true!


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## Darylh (Jan 2, 2006)

I just had the same problem so what I did was walked around the outside of the house to see if I could find any damp areas close to ground level and taped the walls with a hammer to see if I get any reaction and sure enough I found where the little pests were coming in . 
These people in pest control are normally really good at finding them and taking care of the problem so you might want to go this route.


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## R Parker (Apr 13, 2006)

I've tried to get her to call our pest control people. The people that have our termite bond say 'we don't cover ants', and Mom is afraid if we call anyone else, it will void our termite bond. <grrr> Frankly, I think the *idiots* that have our termite bond are doing a lousy job anyway. They come once a year, walk around the house, don't even go inside, do very little towards an actual inspection, charge Mom $75 and say 'See you next year'. They say they can't spray anything due to the EPA regulations, which is a bunch of 'bull', because Cooks Pest Control comes and sprays our office once a month! I know for a fact the house next to us, when they had new siding put on, had a *bad* case of termite damage. It worries me about ours.


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## BASSMASTER (Feb 18, 2006)

Call a reputable Pest control. True, in many cases you can find them but, you rarely can effectively kill the nest. In addition, there can be many of them.

I had the same problem with carpenter ants. I have a friend who has a pest control company who came and started spraying our house and now never see any. He treats the house every month through early spring to late fall.

From what he tells me it can take up to a year before you stop seeing them.

The spray is non-toxic, he sprays inside & out.

Hope this helps.

P.S. He also tells me any kind of structure or landscaping change can cause a nest to move.


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## mmcginn2 (Apr 19, 2006)

*County extension office can help*

Hi, my husband is an entomologist (FYI: bug researcher/specialist), and his specialty is ants. He's not here right now to give me advice to give you, but if he were, he would tell you to give your county extension agent a call to find out the best way to control the ants. The best part is, extension agents are paid by the state, so they work for tax dollars and won't charge you anything for the advice! Here's the Alabama extension main web site: http://www.aces.edu/.


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## ocoee (May 31, 2007)

First off your understanding of pest control is flawed
Cooks ( a very reputable company)sprays your office for general household pest once a month not termites.
Peace of mind treatments when no termites are present are not allowed and carpenter ants do not fall under a termite bond nor do they fall under many pest control contracts

A $75 a year termite bond is an incredibly good deal around here they are averaging around $300 last I checked
What looks like a walk around to you is probably a very good inspection by a trained professional that knows what to look for

BassMaster there is no such thing as a non-toxic pesticide. If it was non toxic it would not kill anything
And finding and destroying the nest is the most effective way to treat any ant
I can typically find a carpenter ant colony in about 10 to 15 minutes and the problem should end almost immediately
The problem is that your typical baseboard jockey does not want to take that time or has never been properly trained


The best way to treat for carpenter ants is to go out after sundown and look for their trails
They are nocturnal and most active around midnight
Once you find the nest spray it with and aerosol or dust pyrethrin

They are attracted to wet or damp wood and voids
Spraying your home is nothing more than a delaying action find the source and eliminate it

And tell your mom that carpenter ant treatment and termite treatments have nothing to do with each other and will not void any warranties


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## R Parker (Apr 13, 2006)

*main worries*

The main thing that she worries about is since the house is 40+ years old and has had aluminum siding put on over the outside, that termites might have gotten in underneath the siding and since the guy doesn't appear to do a thorough inspection (and I've been here when he inspects, I agree with her impression!) that termites might get underneath without us knowing. It is especially worying after the next door neighbor having such bad termite damage. When they had the new siding put on their house, it was found and they had to have it repaired. They pulled the old siding off and termites just swarmed out.


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## ocoee (May 31, 2007)

Does the siding go all the way to the ground or is there a space?
Is there a crawl space?

A 40 year old house was probably treated with chlordane, this is supported by the $75 a year renewal charge
If that barrier has not been disturbed it will still be effective

A termite inspector is looking for specific signs of infestation that you may not be aware of
He is not going to peel back siding

I'm not trying to be rude but your own statements show a distinct lack of understanding in pest control and termite matters so wahat you expect in an inspection my be unreasonable

If you are unsure call another company out for a free inspection
They will be trying to make a sell so they will be hoping that they find some
If the house has been treated with chlordane do nothing to disturb that barrier


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## brian fallon (Jul 8, 2007)

*brian fallon absecon island pest control in new jersey*

You really should contact a local exterminator so the proper chemicals can be used(phantom on the inside of house and termidor on the outside side and gel baits used as needed), these chems are sold to licensed pest control applicators only and will give you the best results. You must also find the source and remove their pherimone trails


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## brian fallon (Jul 8, 2007)

*brian fallon absecon island pest control in new jersey*

If your pest control company gives you any problem about ants voiding your termite renewal contract call the better business beareau and report them ants have nothing to do with your termite warranty!!!!!!!! I personally do 15 - 20 termite inspections and treatments monthly and am talking from experience!!


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