July 25th 2010 04:26 am
What is the best way to exterminate carpenter ants?
I have tried traps and spray and poison, they still live with me. I can’t seem to get rid of them. Any ideas?
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Competition Pest Control on 25 Jul 2010 at 4:26 am #
Carpenter ants prefer to nest in wood, but they do not thrive in it.
Carpenter ants, like all other ants, are predators. Sure, they’ll eat a crumb if you leave it out for them, but they also eat other bugs.
Carpenter ants do not eat wood. They excavate it and dump their wood shavings outside their nest.
Traps: useless. Carpenter ants prefer live food.
Spray: Unless you are using a professional material made just for carpenter ants, you’re probably just killing a few off and maybe even pushing the nest to a new location.
Here are some tips:
1. Cut all branches of trees and bushes so that none of them touch your home. Cut them at least one foot away to buy you some time before you have to do it again.
2. Clean your gutters – they can live in gutters full of leaves and pine needles.
3. Remove any mulch within one foot of your home.
4. Rake the leaves in your yard.
These are all sanitation issues that will lead to ants of some variety.
The ants you have might not be carpenter ants, either. They could be Odorous House Ants. Though the treatment a professional can do is the same, by you trying to treat them you could make the problem 1000x worse.
Start calling around getting prices. Ask if the pest control professional can completely cure your problem. Ask if there will be a foul odor.
If you’re in Yavapai County, Arizona, msg me.
gurneywagon on 25 Jul 2010 at 4:26 am #
They thrive on wet, rotting wood. Look for the source in your plumbing areas, siding, decking, floor joists…check anything "wood’ related. Once the source has been found, have it fixed and they should leave you alone!
Angel Wings on 25 Jul 2010 at 7:20 pm #
Keeping rain gutters cleared of all ants, roaches, decaying and rotting leaves, moss, virus, mosquito larva, stagnant water has become very easy, clean, fast, and safe to do when you use a Gutter Clutter Buster attachment tool on your wet/dry vac hose. Its the best gutter cleaning method available today, next to someone else endangering their lives by climbing a ladder. The Gutter Clutter Buster keeps you safe on the ground all the while you are ridding your gutters of nasty debris.