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That's a carpenter ant reproductive. You've got a nest somewhere with access to the interior of the house.
Do you ever see smaller workers foraging around? What about around the perimeter of the home? Do you notice the smaller black workers scurrying around?
You don't necessarily need to find the nest, but just where the workers are feeding. Then you can leave some poison bait out for them. They will eat it, take it back to the nest, pass it around, and over the course of a month or so then entire nest (including queen) will die out.
I successfully eliminated a similar nest in my home that I discovered after a swarm of thousangs of the 1/2" long reproductive. Total cost was $10 in ant bait/poison and positioning them near the suspected nest area. Within a month entire nest was dead.
Nope. Clearly a carpenter ant if you look at some of the insect sites online. I had so many in a previous home, I was about ready to start hammering through recently repaired walls(!)
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We have to nuke it from space. It’s the only way to be sure.
That's a carpenter ant reproductive. You've got a nest somewhere with access to the interior of the house. <Exterminator said he thinks it's under my foundation.
Do you ever see smaller workers foraging around? What about around the perimeter of the home? Do you notice the smaller black workers scurrying around? < Nope, nope. Not on the outside. Little tiny winged ants have been appearing along with the larger, reproductives.
I have been spraying the perimeter of my home after every rain. I have not seen any ants near the foundation, no ant mounds or nests. I have gravel and pavers surrounding my house so it's not like I've got vegetation growing right up to it.
You don't necessarily need to find the nest, but just where the workers are feeding. Then you can leave some poison bait out for them. They will eat it, take it back to the nest, pass it around, and over the course of a month or so then entire nest (including queen) will die out. < Here's to hoping Home Depot or Lowes is not sold out. I'm sure other folks in the Phoenix area are also dealing with this in their old, cracked stucco homes.
I successfully eliminated a similar nest in my home that I discovered after a swarm of thousangs of the 1/2" long reproductive. Total cost was $10 in ant bait/poison and positioning them near the suspected nest area. Within a month entire nest was dead. < A MONTH? Oh dear.
The smaller winged ants are the males. They are about 1/4" long. They die pretty much within a day of flight. The large ones are the females at slightly more than 1/2" long. They land after mating, pull their wings off and start hunting for new nesting ground. Step on every one you see.
The reason the poison takes so long is because it's slow acting to give the ante time to pass it around to others. Eventually every ant eats it and dies. That's the only way to ensure the nest is eradicated. No instant gratification here.
Baiting the reproductive is a waste of time. The males die anyway and the females don't feed until after they have established a nest and reared a few workers. You need to find the workers. Start strategically leaving food out. They will be roughly the same size as the male reproductives minus wings. You find them...you can put out your ant poison.
There's a few species of carpenter ants. Most common is the black carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus). However that one doesn't look like that species. Of course hard to tell because you squished it.
The smaller winged ants are the males. They are about 1/4" long. They die pretty much within a day of flight. The large ones are the females at slightly more than 1/2" long. They land after mating, pull their wings off and start hunting for new nesting ground. Step on every one you see.
The reason the poison takes so long is because it's slow acting to give the ante time to pass it around to others. Eventually every ant eats it and dies. That's the only way to ensure the nest is eradicated. No instant gratification here.
Baiting the reproductive is a waste of time. The males die anyway and the females don't feed until after they have established a nest and reared a few workers. You need to find the workers. Start strategically leaving food out. They will be roughly the same size as the male reproductives minus wings. You find them...you can put out your ant poison.
There's a few species of carpenter ants. Most common is the black carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus). However that one doesn't look like that species. Of course hard to tell because you squished it.
Couldn't rep you again for your info.
Final question for you. Is there a brand of bait you recommend and is it pet safe? I've got a very curious, always sniffing hunting breed dog and am concerned he'd get into it.
Carpenter ants generally nest in bad wood. Find infested bad wood, remove infested bad wood, problem solved, no need for poison. Kill the ants and you still have bad wood.
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