How to kill carpenter ants

[infomama]

Just saw two of these nasty suckers in my house. Upstairs near our beds....eeeeeek! How do I get rid of these pests? I'm worried!
Should I get Terro baits? I see them mentioned in carpenter ant threads over and over.

[LMPC]

Thanks for writing my post for me :p We are having carpenter ant issues over here too. I'm going to try the baits first, since I really don't want to spray if I don't have to. I remember using boric acid (??) in NJ about 10 years ago. I will be watching this thread eagerly!!!

[infomama]

I asked a few moms from my holistic moms group. The various responses were diamataceous earth around the outside perimeter of the house. Inside: cucumber peels or cinnamon or peppermint oil (I put a few drops and refresh every 2 days).

Awesome. I wonder if it's in stores? Shipping isn't too bad from the direct website though. Have to get some cinnamon oil as well. http://diatomaceousearth.net/category/diatomaceous-earth-products

[gatorsmom]

Are you sure they aren't field ants? They usually become active this time of year. They look very similar to carpenter ants. Field ants are much easier to get rid of , though.

Look all around your yard and see if you can find some very active, slightly raised hills. They could be right in your grass. If you see one or 2 of those outside, then you probably have field ants. It's hard to believe they can be so active inside the house when their nest is outside. However, for several years now when the ground would thaw, the ants become active outside and very quickly are all over inside our house. I've had great luck with these: http://www.amazon.com/Terro-Outdoor-Liquid-Bait-Model/dp/B001WP34HS/ref=sr_1_45?ie=UTF8&qid=1336658113&sr=8-45

If you place those in the middle of the anthill, it will take about a week but the ants will be gone from inside your house. I also use the smaller terro traps inside my house.

Hth and hope they aren't carpenter ants!

[infomama]

Are you sure they aren't field ants? They usually become active this time of year. They look very similar to carpenter ants. Field ants are much easier to get rid of , though.

I'm not 100% sure. The one in our room last night was wingless (and friggin huge!!) and the one that was in Dd's rooms had wings. I just assumed they were carpenter ants I guess. I'm going to do some recon outside and if I see another in the house I'll capture and check it out closer. Thanks for the info though...I hope they are field ants!!

[marymoo86]

According to Holmes on Holmes - carpenter ants look for water.

[mikala]

I asked a few moms from my holistic moms group. The various responses were diamataceous earth around the outside perimeter of the house. Inside: cucumber peels or cinnamon or peppermint oil (I put a few drops and refresh every 2 days).

Diatamaceous earth is readily available at hardware and local garden stores in our area.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_4?url=search-alias%3Dlawngarden&field-keywords=diatomaceous+earth&sprefix=diat%2Cgarden%2C226

I don't know how effective they are against carpenter ants specifically but we've had luck with the Terro baits. They are borax based so it is toxic to humans in large quantities but at least it seems to be a better known chemical than some.

http://www.terro.com/products.php?product=liquid_ant_bait

Good luck!

[gatorsmom]

Ugh! Since yesterday we've found 5. Off to Target I go.

[infomama]

I got two Terro bait traps yesterday while at Target. I haven't seen any since the other day but I'm prepared. Thanks for the clarification above as well re the spices.

[Katigre]

Just saw two of these nasty suckers in my house. Upstairs near our beds....eeeeeek! How do I get rid of these pests? I'm worried!
Should I get Terro baits? I see them mentioned in carpenter ant threads over and over.

First of all, are you sure they are carpenter ants and not field ants? Google for the difference. I thought we had carpenter ants in our house last year but it was actually the field ants who built nests in our grass in the springtime and some came into our house.

[infomama]

First of all, are you sure they are carpenter ants and not field ants? Google for the difference. I thought we had carpenter ants in our house last year but it was actually the field ants who built nests in our grass in the springtime and some came into our house.

I'm not. This was mentioned up thread and I haven't seen another since to capture and inspect. I killed the first two pretty quickly. I'll keep the traps in the boxes until I see more. Hopefully I won't.

[calv]

ughhhhhhh, have killed about 30 of them today. I hate these things. we've been watching them maybe coming in through the fireplace?!?! uggh need to get something ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I'm going to have ANT NIGHTMARES!!!!!!!!