# Carpenter ants in furniture?



## Woody619 (Dec 13, 2012)

We recently bought a table with a tree stump as a base. A few nights ago, we noticed carpenter ants walking around and realized they were coming from the stump. We were advised to wrap the table in a tarp and set off a bug bomb in the tarp. Do you think this will get rid of all the ants? Are there any other recommendations? We have a lot of wood in our house and would hate to see future issues due to this new table. Any help/advice appreciated.


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

Once you get them out of the stump, you will be fine. The tarp and bomb should do that.


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## pendledad (Sep 5, 2012)

I had thousands of carpenter ants in my sunroom … I mean THOUSANDS. I hired a pro, and he used a professional product. It didn't work fast enough for me, so I did my own research.

DRIONE DUST.

It will run you about $50 and $10 for a duster bulb. Puff that dust on them, and the nest will evacuate. Any ant that gets even a tiny coating of dust will die. I puffed my whole house, sunroom, and all the stumps in my yard.

I evactuated at least 12 queens and probably killed 2-3,000 ants in total. DRIONE DUST. You tube it, and you will see how it works. Amazing stuff.

Word to the wise though … as soon as the ants come in contact with the dust, all hell breaks loose. They go crazy and start to flee the nest. So be prepared and make sure you KILL THE QUEEN when she comes out. It will be the biggest fatest black one you see … usually has a swollen abdomen.

Post pictures … I love seeing these things die because they've caused me thousands of dollars this past year in damage.

Edit: I would recommend you bring the table outside. Also drione dust needs to be applied directly into the nest so the dust will shoot through all the cavities and tunnels. You might see the nurse ants come back to the nest to try and save the larvae. It is actually kind of neat, but they will destroy any wet/moist wood. They don't eat wood, just live in it. They come out at night because they're nocturnal foragers.


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## Post_Oakie (Jul 3, 2012)

Unseasoned wood in the house can just plain be bad news. If you've got an active ant colony, your biggest problem may be yet to come-powder post beetles. They could also be in the wood. Whoever sold you the table made an error in judgement. I have heard of people filing lawsuits against the woodworkers when they brought furniture into their homes and had to call an exterminator. It can get expensive. You'd be doing the woodworker you bought the table from a favor by mentioning your problem. By all means, don't waste any time in getting the bugs exterminated, or take any shortcuts on doing a thorough job!

Here's a surprise I found while milling some oak. These guys weren't any happier to see me than I was to see them!


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## GerryB (May 1, 2011)

I would call a local termite company. Ask them to put this piece into the next house they fumigate. When that is done there is NO chance of anything surviving!

GerryB


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## oldworld124 (Mar 2, 2008)

I pass a portable hand held microwave over the wood before it gets used. Kills everything instantly.

beetles, termites and ants can be a big problem.


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## healeydays (Nov 8, 2012)

I use to burn with wood in my last house. One night I had the fire going strong in my Vermont Iron stove and go to put another log in the stove. I dropped it down on the hot flames and all of a sudden hundreds of carpenter ants came bailing out of that log and right into the flames.

Once I had that happen, I was alot more careful about how close the wood was to the house and what I brought into the house…


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## Nomad62 (Apr 20, 2010)

I would try to get the top off of the infested base and see if the seller would give you a new one. If not, then try to kill the bugs in the base without the top attached. I had a maple stump that was full of ants, I dropped a cup of gasoline in the webbing of their little pathways and lit it off. It burned about 5 minutes and the ants never came back.


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## Post_Oakie (Jul 3, 2012)

"I pass a portable hand held microwave over the wood before it gets used. Kills everything instantly.beetles, termites and ants can be a big problem."

John, just be careful where you point that thing! How deep into the wood does it penetrate?


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## DonBroussard (Mar 27, 2012)

I built a dining room table out of cypress about 15 years ago. I used M&T joinery on the legs and frame, tapered the legs and laminated and sanded the top. After bringing it into the house for final assembly, we put the table together. That night when we sat down to supper/dinner, a carpenter bee dug his way out right through the table top in front of my teenage son. I would have thought that all that vibration during milling and sanding would have sent them flying away then, but they waited until the table was completed to tunnel their way to daylight. I sympathize with your having to deal with carpenter ants . . .


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## Woody619 (Dec 13, 2012)

Funny you should mention the beetles….we had that in another table we had bought from the same carpenter 2 years ago. They took that piece and fumigated it, but this one is in our hands for some reason. Thank you so much for all of your advice, I really appreciate it.


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