CARPENTER ANTS

[inveresk]

Hi, Egon

As requested, I've posted some shots of the house preparation and move but done so in the Projects forum. Here's a link.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1095357#post1095357

 

[irwin]

I've skipped over this thread many times.. boy am I glad I finally read it. A wealth of info. I live in the woods-the house was built in 1850-lots of old out- buildings, plenty of old wood-way too much shade, and I've been learning about care of the ancient beams that brush my hair in this old basement.

So thanks for the tips, jinman,soundguy, MikeD74T,cliff.
orange oil, clove oil...did not knowthe uses in pest control. I'd heard about boric acid but didn't know it got rid of fleas. and thanks for the Dirt doctor link jinman.
tim

 

[mudcat]

Is the pest control guy going to spray organic stuff or the pro stuff?

 

[inveresk]

I've left the decision to him, Mudcat. Had we been spraying in the field as originally foreseen as a precaution to prevent the barn or house being infected, I'd have been happy to do the work myself and use one of the natural remedies posted in this thread. However, circumstances have changed.

Firstly, I want rid of the ants and I'm happy to leave the controller to determine the best compound for that purpose.

Second, he's intending to drill holes in the siding about two feet up from the wall plate and inject fluid into the stud void around the perimeter of the house so it flows into the cavity and onto the wall plate. I've also exposed the wall plate and first twelve or so inches of studs so he can spray that directly. The spray he'll be using is residual - i.e. it will remain lethal and on the timbers for a couple months. However, very little if any should be sprayed onto the surrounding ground so there's less risk of other bio-organisms being affected.

 

[Soundguy]

One thing to wath out about when you have large ants in our walls... look for termites. I've seen bull ants invade exterior walls hunting termites.

Soundguy