February 5th 2012
PART 2 treating wood Beehive boxes to prevent rot,decay. Bee hive wood pine boxes dipped in copper and beeswax coated for longer life.Help stop wood rot from water and weather or beekeeping pests like ants,wax moths and termites. Beekeepers Beekeeping equipment improvement, treatment of bee hive supplies. John Pluta, Milledgeville Georgia georgiabees.blogspot.com
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February 5th 2012
I live in a really nice apartment that was built 8 years ago. My husband and I have lived here for 7.5 years and have never had much of a problem with insects. However a few weeks ago, the apartment company (a large company I won’t name for now) said they were spraying outside for an ant infestation and to try and get rid of ants if we have em, but if we can’t, then contact them and if the person’s apt was proven sanitary, they would pay exterminator costs. However they did not indicate they would pay for the cost of having to stay in a hotel.
About two weeks ago, I started waking up in the night with pain and/or itching on my skin and would have welts developing that itch intensely. Some of these from even nearly two weeks ago still itch today. We couldn’t for the life of us figure out why I was getting these and thought I must be allergic to something. Then two days ago, when in my bedroom, I saw 3 massive black ants which I have come to identify as Carpenter Ants. Upon searching our room, we had found a total of 10 and I realized these were likely biting me and the pain that would suddenly awaken me was from them biting me and depositing formic acid (like a bee sting) into my skin. I couldn’t believe it and was disgusted, but then couldn’t understand how these few ants caused the now 40+ bug bites my body was covered in.
Then yesterday, my husband saw them coming up out of a tiny hole where our bedroom’s door frame met the carpet. We put 5 Terro baits (sugary syrup with Borax) around the hole and then left for the day. When we got home, one bait was already empty and every bait was full of ants. There was like 100 ants. Needless to say, we have been sleeping in the living room. We had never seen em out here, nor even the kitchen or bathroom, they seemed to be isolated to the bedroom.
Today however, we saw 3 in the bathroom, a few scattered in the living room and a few scattered in the bedroom. We put all new traps and there was maybe 20 or fewer ants feeding tonight and we have also found random dead ants, so the bait is definitely working big time. However I am wondering why these other ants are now entering other rooms. I am afraid they are like scouting for another place to nest. While laying on the couch, I just got bit on the ankle by one and it was so painful.
Sorry to make such a long story, but I am crying and desperate. I don’t know what to do. I am very sensitive to bug bites and I am literally covered in like 50 almost and even with benadryl and hydrocortisone, I am seriously suffering from intense itching, burning skin and now a serious fear of sleeping (I haven’t been sleeping for more than a couple of hours and only sleep during the day since they are busiest at night). My husband for whatever reason hasn’t been bit, and my dog seems fine, they just seem to lovveee me though.
-Should I just give it time and they’ll all die off or is there something else I need to do?
-Why are they now spreading through my apartment?
-I can’t live like this ;( Are the apts responsible for providing us alternate housing while solving the problem if we take that route? I really want to try and solve it ourselves to be honest, as it’s just so disruptive to involve exterminators, etc.
-Why are they biting me and not my husband? I have heard of some insects preferring different genders and/or races and I am a white female and he an Asian male, not sure if that matters.
-Should I seal off the hole? I fear they will just chew through the wood to come out another spot.
Thank you for reading this lengthy post. I honestly am thinking it’s so long nobody will want to help me, but I will just hope and pray someone will be able to help. I will gladly remember to give stars/best answer to the person whom helps me! Thank you!
Thank you! Our current Terro Baits: they take the poison back to the nest & it seems to be working, as we are seeing only like 5% of what we had the last 2 days, but I think I will have to contact my apt mgmt anyway 
such a pain.
That is strange though about the biting. My husband was showing me how they bite because I couldn’t fathom them doing this to me. He held a tweezer near one and it instantly attached to it and he literally wacked it against a wall and it still wouldn’t let go (boy did I gasp in shock)! Yet they are not staying attached to me, but we have no other insects in our apt, and even today I got an awful pain and tore my blanket off and there was a giant black ant running away! I just don’t understand the perspiration thing does make some sense and I move around a LOT when sleeping, and he never does, so maybe i roll on em. And these are HUGE, most near the height of a nickel, most near nickel height – never seen anything like it!
Look forward to more feedback!
TY Peter! Thanks for the link too! We have not traveled or stayed anywhere outside our home in over a year. When searching the net I heard about bed bugs and searched things like crazy, but did not find any signs of them, so *knock on wood* I don’t think it’s those, but doesn’t hurt to check again.
It was interesting what you brought up. I am not a drinker, however I have insulin resistance problems resulting in exceptionally high blood sugar & am currently in the process of seeing a doc for it and soon going on diabetes meds. Can that really be a reason they may be biting me? I would never have thought sweat may have a different scent. That would be nuts. I dunno. Last night I had HORRIBLE pain all of a sudden (laying on the couch) jumped up & screamed out (scared my husband half to death)& then saw a giant ant running away on the couch. Other nights I’ve woken up in a similar fashion with a sudden pain and then swelling & itchiness. Def could be coincidental, but almost too much so.
Also, re: bed bugs, some facts I had found were:
-The face, neck, hands, and arms are common sites for bed bug bites. –Those are the places I don’t have even 1 bite. I only have on legs & torso.
-The bite itself is painless and is not noticed –My bites wake me out of sleep, they are SO painful.
-A peculiarity of bed bug bites is the tendency to find several bites lined up in a row. –Don’t have any bites near each other, they are scattered everywhere.
Those were some of the things that made me rule it out (just in case any future poster is wondering, hehe) & then also that I have just not ever seen them when searching through our apartment. Though I realize it’s bizarre that it could be ants doing this to me, so i don’t know what to think anymore
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February 5th 2012
I have been having trouble with carpenter ants…not in huge numbers, but between 4 and 10 a day. At first I was just killing them; then I went out and bought traps. A couple of years ago I had wonderful results with borax-based ant traps, but I could not find them this time, so bought another type. They didn’t seem to be working, so I went to another store and did find the ones I wanted and replaced the others with these. The problem is, the ants won’t go near either type. They are placed on the floor against the wall in two rooms, and any time an ant gets near one, he turns around and runs like hell! Are my ants geniuses?
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February 5th 2012
We have a Carpenter Ant problem in our home. Last year we didn’t pay it much attention except for setting out the usual ant traps (which we now know don’t work). But after Christmas they started appearing again – odd, since this is Canada and it’s cold and snowy.
Today the Pest Control Specialists came in. I had a few ants I had saved so they could see what type and they’re definitely Carpenter. So the guys sprayed something all around our baseboards. They said we’ll start seeing more soon as they abandon the nests, but within a few weeks they should be gone (if not, they’ll spray again). We live right behind a creek with alot of dead wood.
I’ve been reading up on the little suckers and can’t understand how the spray kills them. Most sites talk about drilling holes in the walls, which wasn’t done.
I’m just really curious about what happens now, and how the colonies die.
If anyone knows the answer, greatly appreciated.
P.S. I live in Ontario, Canada – just mentioning since I know pesticide laws change from place to place.
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February 5th 2012
This is a video in a series of termite videos from HomeGuard Distributors. More to come. Here is an even closer look at some white headed Subterranean Termite Soldiers. These were captured using a HomeGuard Termite Monitor. There were thousands of these captured in the same location. For more information on these termite monitors or the new Truth Termite Bait, please go to www.homeguarddistributors.com.
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February 5th 2012
This is another video in a series of termite videos from HomeGuard Distributors. More to come. Keep checking back. Here is a video of opening some of Dampwood and Drywood Termites living together.They were actually found in a HomeGuard Termite Monitor in Florida. This is not the best video quality because of the age of the video. This was a most unusual opportunity even for the HomeGuard Termite Baiting System as it is the only known trapping of both a Dampwood (Neotermes Castaneus) and a Powderpost Termite (Cryptotermes Cavifrons) acting as one individual colony. I have seen these termites living together in Brazilian Pepper Trees for 37 years and even experienced a swarm from a single hole of one, then the other species emerging. I was always told by the University of Florida that they must live in different chambers and that even that was rare. Professor NY Su, told us they would never tolerate living together as the Dampwoods are very aggressive and there would be an antagonistic response if reproductives, workers and soldiers meet face to face instead of Swarmers. We have about ½ hr of this footage and not only is there no aggression shown from either side, they will beg for food from each other and will feed from one species to the other quite routinely. For more information on these termite monitors or the new Truth Termite Bait, please go to www.homeguarddistributors.com.
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February 4th 2012
I have spread poison around my house and put little poison traps where they are suspected of coming in. they are getting worse and worse. no matter what i do, i can’t get rid of them. i have pets that are sensitive to strong poisonings. i was not to happy when i put poison outside, but i was desperate. i am on a strict budget and i’m trying to save money, but my only option now is terminiex. can someone please give me some good ideas. serious answers only please.
i own 2 tarantulas and seven rats. two of the rats are old men and feeling their age. i don’t want something to kill any of my animals. my tarantulas would be more susceptible to the poison. if i do get a professional, my tarantulas would have to live somewhere else for a while. i live in a rural area and they are pretty bad. right now i am using clorox bleach on my counters. it does help a bit, but not enough. they are to the point of overwhelming us. we found some in our bed. it’s just a matter of time…..
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November 2nd 2011
This is a video in a series of termite videos from HomeGuard Distributors. More to come. In this a picture slide show of two houses we treated in 2002 for subterranean termites. These were some of the heaviest hit homes we have ever seen. We called these two the “Hell Houses”. One was located in St. Pete, Fl. and the other in Clearwater, Fl. These were treated with the early prototypes of the HomeGuard Termite Baiting System, including the 1600 Gram Above Ground Monitor. For more information on these termite monitors or the new Truth Termite Bait, please go to www.homeguarddistributors.com.
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September 27th 2011
www.technicalpestservices.com – Houston Termite Control – Call (713) 956-7822 Houston Termite Control Saves Millions Of Dollars Every Year For the most part the biggest financial investment most Houstonians will have during their lifetime will be the home that they purchase to live in for the rest of their lives, or for at least five to ten years. The cost of ownership with just about anything we purchase goes up every year, but with real estate it is imperative to maintain the structural soundness of one’s home, in order to be able to sell it at a profit, or just keep repair costs down, and your family’s safety in check. Wood eating termites, and carpenter ants are the two most hated insects of real estate investors, as they can take a home that has been empty for long periods of time, and completely destroy the entire structure in just months. Believe it or not, many people that are trying to sell a house in Harris County, will move on to the new home while the old one is on the market, and then forget about calling a pest control Houston service to come out and do inspections, and treat the home while waiting for prospective buyers. This is why home mortgage companies require reports from exterminators before approving loans to verify that the home is in such disrepair that the new owners would go bankrupt trying to fix the damages. Just imagine the damages that would occur each and every year, if twenty or thirty percent of the homeowners in the Houston Texas area …
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July 15th 2011
I live downstairs of my landlord’s house and it appears that he has put white powder around the house to kill the carpenter ants problem. But they are invading my apartment. They don’t seem to go after the food but everywhere else. How do I get rid of them? Someone told me that the ant traps at the local store will not work on carpenter ants.
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