Carpenter Ants.....Help! Please.......

[Old John]

The last couple of weeks we have been seeing an occasional Big Carpenter Ant, in the House. Not many.........But I know they are here.

I know they are nearly as Destructive to a House as Termites. We've had the House checked for Termites a couple times, in the 6 years we've lived here.
No termites, so far.

Is there a way we can Eliminate the Carpenter Ants,...And, Be Sure of it, without calling in an Exterminator.
Does the Ant Poison have to be Injected down into the Soil, all around the House? Do we have to Inject Poison into all our walls?
Will we have to treat all 3 of our Out-buildings too?

Most Exterminators out here want you to Sign a year-long Contract, for regular Treatments. And, They are expensive!

Does anyone have any experience with fighting and Eliminating Carpenter Ants from your Home? I'd be happy with any good Information and Help, y'all could offer us.
Thanks, Y'all.

[Bearfootfarm]

Does anyone have any experience with fighting and Eliminating Carpenter Ants from your Home?

The same poisons that work for fire ants will work for carpenter ants too.
Find where they are coming in and put some down, and they will carry it back to the nest, which is probably in a tree

[cowcreekgeeks]

I had carpenter ants in the barn. I treated them with ORTHO Home Defense MAX. It is supposed to keep them out for a year. I didn't treat this year, but I have not seen them. I'd buy a gallon and spray all around your foundation. If you know where they're at, saturate the area. Worked for me. Good Luck.

[RVcook]

We are battling carpenter ants constantly in our log home. It was obvious that the previous home owner had 'ant' issues, but was ignorant to the fact that carpenter ants require specific solutions as opposed to regular ants.

Although I consider this a short term treatment until I can get the log replaced, I have a pump sprayer and use Spectracide Carpenter Ant and Termite Killer concentrate. I spray around the foundation, saturating the wood as I go. This will keep them at bay while the survivors search for a new home. Which brings up another issue, if you only spray on the outside, chances are they will migrate to the inside of your home. To combat this problem, you may want to spray something like cowcreekgeeks suggested inside first and then spray the Spectracide on the outside. That should limit their movement inside.

Depending on how large the nest is, this could only be a short-term solution. I have had to spray 4 times each year for the past two years to keep them in check and I still have an occasional 'escapee.'

HTH

RVcook

[SteveD(TX)]

I've read that if you have carpenter ants, you already have rotting and damp wood somewhere. That's where they like to make their nests and they aren't nearly as destructive as the condition that made the wood rot in the first place.

[BaronsMom]

SteveDTX - you are right. Carpenter ants don't infest solid wood initially. They typically start in damaged wood - so where there might be water problems. Couple of resources for you from Univ of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension - - -

Carpenter Ant ID - http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/ants/Cants.shtml

Carpenter Ant Management - http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resour...rpAnt004.shtml

Carpenter Ant Management II - http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/...licationId=826