Carpenter Ants...HELP!

[Sarki]

Got a nice surprise the other day. Carrying supplies up to the loft as I'm getting ready to sheetrock the loft of my 26' x 32' pole barn/garage. Cleared the site and built the garage last summer. Been finishing up the interior all winter....fiberglass insulation, 3/4 plywood on walls, sheetrock on 12' ceiling in main area.
I'm in the loft and I look up at the exposed rafters w/fiberglass batt insulation and see 3 areas swarming with carpenter ants. Grabbed a can of ant spray and went to town. We're talking like a hundred carpenter ants, some larger winged ones as well. Looks like they were nesting between the side of the insulation and the rafters. Since spraying I'm now finding them all over the garage where I had not found any before. I pulled down a few pieces of insulation in the area where I noticed them swarming and haven't found anymore.
What to do??? No way I want to put the sheetrock up on the ceiling of the loft until I am certain these ants are deader than dead and gone for good.
Anybody have experience with getting rid of carpenter ants. The garage is built on a wooded lot that I cleared and raised. With all the rain here in the NE lately I'm sure that added to my problem. These guys are probably running for high ground.

 

[89GLH]

Had that problem in a shed, so I went overboard with the ant killer foggers. You might want to call an exterminator though, 50 cans of ant fog might be expensive.

 

[Sarki]

Got someone coming on Tuesday but I hate having to hire out as there are so many unqualified people out there it's almost impossible to find the good ones.
Man, talk about putting a damper on things. I was busting my hump on this for the past year and now this!

 

[danski0224]

Is the area where they were found damp or moist?

You probably need to get some of that powdered ant killer stuff, borax I think.

 

[Sarki]

Building is dry as bone inside. Board & batten siding with metal roof. All walls and ceiling insulated with fiberglass batts. Never saw a single ant in any part of the garage until the other day when I saw them swarming on the rafters in the loft at the edge of the insulation and side of the rafters.

 

[Full Size 66]

100% boric acid powder. Try to find out where they are living, their center of opperation. Clean out what you can, put down the boric acid powder there and around the entire perimiter of your building. Boric acid is mild, spiders and ants and other segmented bodies that are hard on the outside soft on the inside hate the stuff... I do not know why but it works!

 

[iagsxr]

Had them in my house once.

There's stuff you put out looks like syrup. The workers carry it back to the nest where it's eaten. It kills the queen, therefore the nest.

Was warned not to attack them with Raid/etc. That they would sense danger and either move the nest or perhaps split into several nests making them harder to kill.

Found too was that they have times when they'd feed. The stuff wouldn't be touched for a day then all at once gone. I caught them one time taking it and just kept putting out more and more. Last time I ever saw an ant.

Got mine from an exterminator. My mom has bought some over the counter stuff that's similar from our Farm Fleet type store.

 

[nperkins]

iagsxr... any more info on this syrup? I've got an ant problem by my shed, and i think they have infested a rather large tree as well...

 

[bobbycoke]

I also use Borax, I put it in wall cavities before I close them in and never had a problem, don't know if it is the reason but cheap insurance also under any cabinet instillations..

 

[LeonardY]

I do not know why but it works!

It's kind of nasty death. The borax gets into their joints. It literally grinds their joints apart. The other ants take the broken bodies back to the nest and bring the borax with them.

iagsxr... any more info on this syrup? I've got an ant problem by my shed, and i think they have infested a rather large tree as well...

They are called ant traps or ant stakes. I use a brand called Terro. I don't like the old style ant stakes. But if you that's all you can find. Make sure you take a nail and some warm water and break up the gel through the opening. Place the traps right near trails. And just leave them alone. There is a tendency to want to kill and wipe up the ants right away. Don't. Let them gather the bait and they will slowly disapear. It usually takes several days and might be as long as a couple weeks. Be patient.

 

[VWandDodge]

Another recommendation for Borax. Just buy it straight, don't look for ant killers that list it as an ingredient. It kills roaches as well. Cheap and effective.

 

[regguy1]

iagsxr... any more info on this syrup? I've got an ant problem by my shed, and i think they have infested a rather large tree as well...

Terro Ant Killer...sold all over the place

 

[D.J.]

Their is a product called TEMPO SC ULTRA premise spray that they don't like it is a liquid product that you mix up in a two gal sprayer that works well for a perimeter barrier. As always the label is the law and read and follow all label directions. Just because a little is good doesen't mean a lot is better!

 

[Herb]

There doesn't have to be moisture for those little bastards to be in your barn. They are probably just forming a colony somewhere safe. I would also put down a perimeter defense, but get something that works not the useless **** they sell at the home centers. I've "heard" that cypermethrin works really well, but it may not be easily available in your state without some creebayative efforts.

 

[motorheadsdiygarage]

Used this stuff and it worked for me http://www.scjohnson.ca/msds/Raid® Liquid Ant Killer.pdf

 

[nperkins]

I'll have to pick some up this afternoon... We've had wicked rain here in new england the past few weeks, and I just opened up my shed, and ants went SCATTERING everywhere at the entrance to it (It had built up dirt/mud around it)..

 

[Sarki]

Here's a few pictures of what I found and where. Carpenter ants with wings and some without. You can see where I pulled down some of the insulation as this was the area where they were swarming, between edge of insulation and the side of the rafter in the loft area.
Kills me as I was planning on hanging the sheetrock in the loft area this weekend. Looks like an indefinite delay at this point!

 

[Sarki]

Couple more pictures.....

 

[bchee]

stage

 

[Bull]

You are not alone.

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103794

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101188

 

[Sarki]

You are not alone.

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103794

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101188

Thanks for the links Bull. How did you make out on your end? Under control yet?

 

[buildmyown]

Had a bad problem last summer on one of the real hot 90 plus days we had here in the north east. There were hundreds of them falling from the recessed can lights in my living room. There are 6 lights total and only the 2 that are close to the chimney had the ants falling from them. I know I had a leak around the chimney and a rotted trim board so im guessing that is how they got in. I did the only thing i could think of and called Terminix. They sent a tech right out mind you this was like 4pm on a Friday. The tech did a very good look around but the big problem is the living room is an addition and there is no attic and no access to the area. I removed the trim rings from the lights so the tech could get his fogger stuff up there. He then used a bait in the areas that he thought the ants were using as their road ways in and out of the house. So they could track it back and take the nest out. At the time Terminix was running a 2 year special. It included a full termite inspection and termite traps all around the outside of the house. They also sprayed all around the outside of the house for ants and termites. In the contract they come out every 3 months to do an inspection. If I ever notice a lot of activity i can call and they will come right out and do another spray and bait of the area. There are no limits to how many times i can have them come out in that 2 year time period. This fall i have to do a roof and while im at it im going to rip some of the decking off in that area of the room so i can do an inspection and see what is there. While I have the decking off i will have terminix come out and really spray down that area. For $1200 I feel that its a pertty good deal. Since last summer I have only seen 2 ants and both were yesterday when it was really warm out.

 

[LeonardY]

Here's some information. I didn't know carpenter ants form satellite colonies.

http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb0818/eb0818.pdf

 

[hypnotoad]

Termidor.

 

[Bull]

Thanks for the links Bull. How did you make out on your end? Under control yet?

It's weird. My sweet trap of syrup and Borax didn't seem to do squat. Never saw an ant go near it when they were in my kitchen that week. When the rain went away, I went around the perimeter of my house with this Amdro or something like that granules. Supposed to kill the bastages. It's rained A LOT since then, and the poison is gone. Now, I no longer am getting all these little buggers in my kitchen. Once in a while there will be one. But, my wife saw three upstairs today, and one in my daughter's room last night. And, I see them scurrying around outside, near the house, all the time. I'm perplexed. If they aren't all dead, why aren't they coming inside as much?

To add to the misery: this year, I have a lot of carpenter BEES. Never even knew there was such a thing until a few years ago. These ugly sacks are just like the huge bees you see in your flowers, but they drill 3/8 circular holes in wood. Deep holes and tunnels. They also basically "****" out the hole, kind of a yellowy spatter, maybe like if a huge zit exploded. It stains the side of the house/barn, and windows if their hole is right above one. They are really ******* me off. I have crushed a few, and blasted a few others with carb cleaner while in their holes, but I seem to be losing the battle.

 

[WVBrady]

...To add to the misery: this year, I have a lot of carpenter BEES. Never even knew there was such a thing until a few years ago. These ugly sacks are just like the huge bees you see in your flowers, but they drill 3/8 circular holes in wood. Deep holes and tunnels. They also basically "****" out the hole, kind of a yellowy spatter, maybe like if a huge zit exploded. It stains the side of the house/barn, and windows if their hole is right above one. They are really ******* me off. I have crushed a few, and blasted a few others with carb cleaner while in their holes, but I seem to be losing the battle.

I had those in an old house on my property. They were attracted to some flowering vines that I had let grow up the side of the house. They are attracted to the flowers. They don't eat the wood; they just bore into it to leave their eggs. They mostly left after I got rid of the vines and sprayed wasp killer into the holes they left. They even bored into new treated lumber on a stairwell that I had just built.

 

[Bull]

I had those in an old house on my property. They were attracted to some flowering vines that I had let grow up the side of the house. They are attracted to the flowers. They don't eat the wood; they just bore into it to leave their eggs. They mostly left after I got rid of the vines and sprayed wasp killer into the holes they left. They even bored into new treated lumber on a stairwell that I had just built.

And you know, I even feel bad killing them. I like bees and wasps and hornets, they do a good job doing what they do. But drilling holes in my buildings? That just wont stand!!

 

[hypnotoad]

And you know, I even feel bad killing them. I like bees and wasps and hornets, they do a good job doing what they do. But drilling holes in my buildings? That just wont stand!!

Bull, Termidor will kill them too.

 

[Bull]

Bull, Termidor will kill them too.

I read in that other thread where you mentioned that it's a carcinogen. I know I am surrounded by them, but I try not to add new ones to my exposure routine.

 

[Motofixxer]

I have used the clear syrup stuff called "Revenge" that worked well. I just poured some drops on cardboard and laid it around. I also use the Terro granules in the orange ziploc bottom bag. I mostly use that outside in the yard. The Borax is a classic, but I have never used it.