# Ant Pest Control problem...can't afford Exterminator



## AngelaR (Aug 2, 2010)

Hi y'all,
I've got a major ant problem, I've taken a shot of hit here:








I looked the darn things up on the internet and found these guys are carpenter ants. I'm trying to figure out how to do some DIY pest control and avoid using an exterminator, they just cost too much for me.
Any ideas?


----------



## Nomad62 (Apr 20, 2010)

I get ants almost every year, and what works for me is consistent laying out of different types of poisons you can purchase anywhere. Look in your local hardware type store and buy several types, liquids you apply to surfaces as well as the "trap" containers. They took about three years, but I have decimated their population. Ants live in the millions, so there will be no quick fix; but you can do it with consistent effort and constant application. Put the stuff where ever you see the crawling critters, and just leave it. They will snoop into it sooner or later, and will carry it back to the hive(s); the numbers drop, and sooner or later they will no longer be a pest. One last thing: I get them in great hoards every year as the weather turns to warm, and the birds I feed year 'round feast on them! So feed the tweets and the tweets will pay you back, naturally.


----------



## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

We had a carpenter ant infestation several years ago … the trick is to find their nest and kill the queen, then douse the nest with insecticide.

I found the nest in some rotten framing on a deck built at ground level (partially buried with dirt the previous owner had hauled in for a flower bed).

When I opened up the nest with a shovel, I saw the queen right away … she was HUGE. Once I snuffed the queen, I used some insecticide I bought at Menards.

See: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/dk1015.html


----------



## TroutStalker (Mar 6, 2009)

Hi AngelaR,

I don't have an ant problem but have serious cluster fly problems. I tried an exterminator but, as you noted, it was expensive and need to be done each year. I found http://doyourownpestcontrol.com. They have lots of information and sell some very good insecticides at a reasonable price. Rather than $200 to the exterminator each year I buy a bottle of insecticide and apply it with a garden sprayer. A $20 bottle of insecticide last me 4-5 years.


----------



## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

You might try Diatomaceous Earth. It's inexpensive, kills most bugs with exoskeletons and in nontoxic to humans.

I think carpenter ants will literally eat you out of house and home - so you need to get them gone in a hurry.


----------



## pcott (Jul 7, 2009)

Believe it or not, I mixed baking soda and icing sugar, laid it out, and…ants are gone. I heard they take it back to the queen, she eats it and the baking soda kills her. Dunno if thats BS or not, but it seems to have worked.

We can't use poisons, I have 2 cats and a daughter who is very sensitive to chemicals (she has ASD). Helps me be creative.

BTW I was told by pest control guys that the ants won't pull your house down. They only eat wood that is damaged already, apparently. Could be true, may not be, too.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

I never found the nest, but i spray around the house with a barrier type insecticide that is suposed to work for a month. It keeps them out all year long, or at least their roaming season )

If you go out in the middle of the night with a flash light, you can watch to see where they are going and try to follow them to their nest. Ours must be underground, possible under pavement by the street, but not sure.


----------



## lilredweldingrod (Nov 23, 2009)

If you find an entrance or just a very busy area and dump about twenty or thirty bags of the sweetener Aspertane, it will kill all the colony. This stuff is the best ant killer ever made.

Now if it just worked on these destructive ground squirrels…..Rand


----------



## Michael121 (Jun 30, 2008)

http://www.terro.com/

Terro is the best. They have outdoor and indoor applications. The ants eat the ants take it back and the colony dies. It is safe around pets.

I had a colony of reds and they would not go near it, the blacks go right for it. Problem with the reds, I put one in it then he left the trail leaving the reds started. Goodbye ant.

Little sugar to wood ants….no more ants.


----------



## juniorjock (Feb 3, 2008)

What Mike said…....... the stuff works if you give it time.


----------



## Broglea (Dec 9, 2009)

You will need to find the queen and kill her. Carpenter ants will make their home in moist/rotton wood. I can't tell if that's a window from the picture, but the nest is probably behind the siding. You will need to pull off the siding until you find it and then hit it with some poison.

The other thing about Carpenter Ants is as the colony matures it will send out new Queens looking to make another colony close by. The ants with the wings are new queens getting ready to leave the colony. Don't be surprised if you will need to find more than one colony.

In my last house I had to track down 4 colonies to get rid of my ant problem. They were behind the window molding, behind the siding, at the corner of the house and in the tree 30 feet from the window. Good luck.


----------



## juniorjock (Feb 3, 2008)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard that the ants don't actually eat the wood, they just tunnel in it. Pretty much the same results though. They like moist wood to build their home.

Edit: I just wanted to add a little info about the Terro. It is a chemical. But if you use your brain, there are ways to put this stuff out where your pets or children won't be able to get to it. Just put a few drops on a piece of foil and slide it in to a used up paper towel roll. There are others, just use your imagination.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

I don't kknow about all of them, but that is what carpenter ants do; tunnel:-(


----------



## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

I have eliminated a mound of ants in the lawn with Baking Soda and Vinegar. Sprinkle baking soda first, 1 hour later use vinegar to remove the "Scent" that the scout ants leave. I have had succesful results 3 different times.


----------



## jcsterling (Aug 1, 2008)

FYI. I see that you have cedar shingles on the house. If you used tyvek as a house wrap it is best to have a air space behind the cedar and the housewrap. The ants are attracted to the rotting wood under the siding. Fix the source of the problem once or douse with chemicals etc every year.


----------



## juniorjock (Feb 3, 2008)

I think John has the right idea. Get rid of the moisture and get rid of the ants.


----------



## reggiek (Jun 12, 2009)

A simple way to get rid of them is to spray "Simple Green" on them. It is an environment friendly product, but the ants hate it….it removes the phenome trails they make for each other to follow….and it kills them without a poison. I was amazed by it when someone recommended it to me….Give it a try.


----------



## fredf (Mar 29, 2008)

Boric acid (aka roachproof) hd has another brand, in white bottle, don't recall name, it is listed for roaches, how ever. Boric acid is what the exterminator used when we had it done years ago. Just reciently we had another bunch put it round the affected door, and no more ants! Mix 50% / 50% with powdered sugar. dust / spoon in around that window.

COMMON SENSE MUST BE APPLIED, KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN AND PETS ETC ETC . . . . . LABEL LEFTOVERS CLEARLY-will NOT make acceptable frosting YMMV . . . .


----------



## BobFlyer (Mar 1, 2010)

I spent the better part of a year trying to get rid of the Carpenter Ants. I found that "Alpha Dust" sold by many DIY pest stores (about $29) worked the best. I tried many different product, but the "Alpha Dust" did the trick.

1. The Carpenter Ants are active at dusk, so you need to spend time trying to figure out where the main nest is located, I found by following the ants travel, you will eventually find the nests, it takes a lot time. I used a flashlight with a red lens, The Ants apparently cannot see red, I watched them many evenings. I found 5 satellite nests plus the main. It took almost 4 months to find all of my local nests, I would go out at dusk an do what I called the Ant patrol.

2. once you locate the nests, apply the Alpha dust, an watch them die and flee. ( I purchased a small bulb air sprayer to inject the Alpha Dust. ). Wear a dust mask when using.

I also tried several baits, however, after they took some of the baits on the first trip, they would not touch the stuff again. The baits I tried were dried silk worms, which they loved on the first trip. The idea here is they take the baits back to the nest where everyone enjoys the food and it kills them off. May work to some degree, however, I ended up favoring the Alpha Dust. Baits need to be placed in the path of the Ants travel, so the scouting of where they are coming and going pays off here.

My satellite nests were in size of about 300-500 ants, but the main nest was located about 300 feet away at the base of a Large Pine tree, estimated several thousand ants.

They are very difficult find and kill, I recommend doing it your self, since it is time consuming, the pest control companies in my area do nothing more than spraying everything in site, without the knowledge of where the nests are located, you are just shooting blanks in my opinion.

As someone above mentioned, they tunnel but do not eat the wood, tell tale sign is the fine dust from the tunnel activity, they can do some serious damage if left to continue.

Good side of the Carpenter Ants, if you have them, most likely you do not have Termites, since the Carpenter Ants Eat Termites.

Happy Hunting and hope you can find the nests

Bob


----------



## stevenhsieh (Jan 8, 2010)




----------



## jevarn71 (Sep 30, 2009)

http://www.bayeradvanced.com/insects-pests/products/carpenter-ant-termite-killer-plus

This is what I use around the house and in the yard. It works great.


----------



## Termite777 (Aug 9, 2014)

The Carpenter ant species may nest in almost any crack and crevice and often occur in structural wood where water leaks or rot occurs. Outdoors, the carpenter ant use dead trees or tree limbs, stumps, logs or areas under stones as nesting sites. For further info check out the site http://pestmd.net/outdoor-pest-control/carpenter-ant-control/.

Mike
http://PestMD.net (for more DIY Pest Control tips and strategies)


----------



## PaulSutton (Nov 14, 2017)

Yes DIY would not cost you more money than hiring an exterminator. You can check for some DIY methods by searching on the internet.


----------

