carpenter ants (house, to buy, live in)

[BadAndyHolbrook]

just noticed a hell of alot of carpenter ants the last few days in my yard. Got home this evening and daughter found on crawling in her room on the second floor.My question is ...do I panic and call someone or wait. Logic has me thinking that one may have somehow gotten in thru the back door, garage on slipped under the front screen door.........I searched around the rooms and found nothing ...Any suggestions? i live in holbrook...

[Looking4MyHouse]

Hey, what did you end up doing? I saw a few in my basement and I'm freaking out!! LOL

[LongIslandCitizen]

[scottzilla]

The information I am about to give you is 100% accurate and will save you hundreds of dollars.
I had carpenter ants once as well and did a lot of research. Got rid of them in 2 weeks. Seriously.
This is what you need to kno:.
First, don't bother killing the ants you see as they are a tiny percentage of what you are actually trying to kill. Furthermore killing too many ants will result in the queen laying more eggs to ensure the future of the nest. If she looses enough workers she will command that the nest be split which results in twice as many ants.
DO NOT SPRAY ANYTHING. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM LOWES OR HOME DEPOT. Unless you are able to directly spray the nest itself, these sprays are worthless and force the ants to find new routes, making it harder for you to track them. If you get a good kill with the sprays, remember the queen will just make new ants.
Instead of killing the ants you see, OBSERVE them. Seriously. They will lead to their trail and to the nest itself. Try it, you will be surprised. The random ants you see look line loners, like they are operating as individuals but tehy are part of a trail. Watch them, and you will find the trail.
This is important because you need to bait the trail, rather than spread ant killer all over the place. Basements are easy; they are probably moving in a line up and down the wall. So tonight, right around 6pm or so, start looking for ants and find out where they are going.

Tomorrow, I will tell you exactly what to buy to kill the entire nest.
Why am I waiting until tomorrow? Because I have the stuff at home and can't remember the name. It's only available online and your local pest control company doesn't want you to know about it.

Any advice you get other than what I just told you is incorrect.

[procfreq]

LOL... they're all over my yard too, but I live in a virtual forest, so no surprise there. So far we haven't seen any of them venture inside.

We got screwed by our original exterminator (big company) who charged us an arm and a leg for 5-minute application of powdered carpenter ant treatment in all the wall voids--probably just borax--when we first moved in. We were stressed and making emotional decisions; the guy said he saw frass in our basement, but I actually think he may have been full of it and just taking advantage of us. Our subsequent dream exterminator takes a much more laid back approach. They now make very effective, non-attracting bait, and with this it is not difficult to wipe out a nest... so if you're concerned, have someone trustworthy out to assess the situation and take it from there.

[convertible1968]

ask the nanny to take care of it

[redrunner+2]

Definitely don't pay anyone to spray. That doesn't do anything.

procfreq I'd be interested to hear who your dream exterminator is.

[suzook]

Originally Posted by redrunner+2

Definitely don't pay anyone to spray. That doesn't do anything.

procfreq I'd be interested to hear who your dream exterminator is.

actually if you dont have infestation in the house, spraying is the way to go. It keeps any ants from getting in. a perimeter spray works wonders from keeping the critters getting in.

[Fastrudy]

Make sure you get an estimate for any work the carpenter ants do. Also, check if they are licensed in Suffolk County to do carpentry.

[mongoose65]

Check the area around the house for dead wood (firewood pile, rotting tree stump, other wood piles just laying around). 9 out of 10 times, this is where the nest will be. I had them in a firewood pile 3 years ago. Got rid of the wood, ants disappeared. I recently started seeing some near my front door and was perplexed. Turns out I still had some firewood logs in a small bench/seat box on the porch. Some new ants took up residence there. Moved the box, dumped the wood, ants gone. As stated above, carpenter ants live in wood piles or trees. Yes, sometimes they do take residence in the house like termites and that is a big problem but it is less frequent that the occasional forager looking for food in the house. They all leave the nest, fan out in trails to forage and return by those same trails to the nest. So bait along the trail or removal of the wood where the nest resides solves the problem. Not always easy, but at least now you know what you're dealing with. Good luck.