Ah, the joys of living in an old house

[rdbutger]

For years, we here at Britt Street have battled with carpenter ants -- some may recall the horror of pouring water into the reservoir of the coffee pot to then wonder why there was rice floating to the top, with each small shoot attended by a flurry of activity. This happened not once, but twice

Comments

GET THE QUEEN!

[jonathangarrett]

I hate to say this, but you may still have only scratched the surface. But the ensuing detective work may be curiously satisfying. According to this page (scroll toward the bottom):

http://bct.nrc.umass.edu/index.php/publications/by-title/controlling-termites-and-carpenter-ants/

Carpenter ants can build 2 types of nests: parent colonies and satellite colonies. Parent colonies hold one queen, a clutch of eggs, her young, and many workers. This nest must be continually wet so the eggs and larvae can live. Satellite colonies can be dryer and only contain worker ants. Carpenter ants follow scent trails that connect satellite colonies to the parent colony and queen. The ants you see in your house may come from a number of satellite colonies or from the parent colony. At any rate, the queen must die! If she is not killed, she will continue to reproduce and the colony will grow. The first order of business - find the nest.

Homeowners make the best detectives, because they can observe ant activity for long periods of time. When you spot ants DON’T SPRAY them. It is tempting, but you’ll only give yourself a false sense of security (albeit intense pleasure) as you watch the ants croak before your eyes. Unfortunately only 5% of the ants are visible. The rest simply find a secret route home, making your job more difficult. Instead, feed the ants with honey or jam and watch them bring food to the nest. Ants are nocturnal so nighttime detective work is best. A column of ants may march straight to your attic, into an outside wall, or even outdoors to a rotting stump. If they disappear into a windowsill or under a baseboard, they probably have a nest in there. Drill a series of 1/8-inch holes into the suspected nest location and spray boric acid into the location using a squeeze bottle sold at most hardware stores. Plug the holes when you are done. Having said this, I think that drilling and dusting should be a last resort. Bait control definitely comes first.

Carpenter ants are fussy eaters. At one time, no company would claim their bait product would control carpenter ants. Now, a number of baits promise carpenter ant control on their label. Look for this message. Many brands of bait work often.