BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: Sawzaw
Date: 09 Apr 10 - 09:02 PM

Talstar? Where does one get it?

and here

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 09 Apr 10 - 09:21 PM

But, Charley....we all long to try out at least one tactical nuke to cure a pesky ant infestation. Just admit it. ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: gnu
Date: 30 May 10 - 01:34 PM

Well SOB! Last night, as I was walking in the hallway, I could feel it's beady little eyes staring at me. I spied it on the bathroom lightswitch (black). Sneaky large female worker.

Now, I KNOW I shouldn't have, but I was so pissed off I terminated her wothout predjudice. Dumb, yes. But I did.

I went to my home inspection gear and pulled out my stethoscope and knew I would locate any nests near or below the ceiling line in jig time. I went immediately to the cellar and "listened" to the walls which contain water pipes.

In the washroom, I thought, "I must check the toilet that never gets used for water level and gunk and put some bleach in." It needed to be done and I flushed it, whence I discovered the leak from the tank... shut the valve off... what f***ing valvle!! NO valve! I was relly pissed off.

No gnawing could be heard. I looked in the few open ceiling spaces and found no visible evidence. I repeated this all over the house without evidence.

So, now I am trple pissed off. Well, Fouple if you count the fact that I squashed the only clue I had.

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: gnu
Date: 30 May 10 - 01:49 PM

Gosh... I'll fix a couple...

So, now I am triple pissed off. Well, fourple...

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: Ed T
Date: 30 May 10 - 02:09 PM

I had luck with Borax laundry powder and icing sugar with regular ants...not sure of the more talented trades type:)

They like the sweetness, and take it into their nests, share it and die..

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: gnu
Date: 30 May 10 - 02:27 PM

Carpenter ants do their laundry with borax. I had never heard of Talstar. Only thing I ever heard of was to find any nests with queens and remove the nests. Those nests require wet wood. Satallite nests do not as they only house workers and young. Due to the requirement for wet wood, queen nests are not found in houses most of the time.

Which again puzzles me. I don't have any wet wood in the house that I know of and there is no wet wood or stumps near the house.

Perhaps this really was an old maid ant... a scout? on vacation?

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: Bert
Date: 30 May 10 - 04:11 PM

Get a Horny Toad.

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: Ed T
Date: 30 May 10 - 04:25 PM

Maybe it's morning wood, GNU....escapes you when your sleeping?

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: Ed T
Date: 30 May 10 - 04:34 PM

Maybe some help?

http://annarborcarpenter.info/carpenter-latest-carpenter-news-photos-the-divine-carpenter-queerty

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: Ed T
Date: 30 May 10 - 04:49 PM

Understand them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWW3OE3gzJs&NR=1

Fight them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIdnVuNtqtc&NR=1&feature=fvwp


Or, enjoy them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CRRdxYhFvc&feature=youtube_gdata

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: Ed T
Date: 30 May 10 - 04:58 PM

Did someone just call Gnu a horny toad? Or, am I just dreaming one of those dreams?

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: gnu
Date: 30 May 10 - 05:11 PM

Yer dreaming. Nobody called me a toad.

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: Don Firth
Date: 30 May 10 - 10:34 PM

You think you have a plague of aunts! My mother had seven sisters and my father had three!

(But nary a carpenter in the bunch. . . .)

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: gnu
Date: 09 Jul 10 - 01:59 PM

I was cleaning up the garage yesterday morn and spotted one. I tracked him for over a half hour. He was on the top plate near the door and it was hard to see him because of the sun. I moved closer and shaded my eyes.

He stopped. He seemed to be working at sommat and I thought he might be making a hole. I waited ten minutes. I moved closer. He was up on his hind four legs and "putting up his dukes". I went in the house, checked the office phone answering machine, had a slug of cold water and returned... gone maybe 3 minutes. He went ninja. I even went in the garage attic with a flash but nada.

Tracking and bringing down big game can be tedious.

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: Riginslinger
Date: 09 Jul 10 - 05:27 PM

"How to get rid of carpenter ants?"

         Organize a bunch of plumber ants and go after them.

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: gnu
Date: 09 Jul 10 - 06:40 PM

So, I was at a corner store this afternoon and a pest control guy was there. I asked $, ballpark, "depending", tho I know it's not possible to estimate.

He said $200 min and that is just to SPRAY everything. Not sommat I would consider and I told him that along with the fact that I couldn't afford a big price tag right now.

Then he said... I hate ant jobs... get rid of all rotten wood. Seal all access/egress. Put bait where you can watch it comfortably and kill the first one you see "gently" so that his body lies upon the end of his trail and then watch. His buddies will come within a couple of hours and take him DIRECTLY back to his nest. That's when you get to set bait and lay down an "ant powder" on their trail.

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 09 Jul 10 - 10:17 PM

EUCALYPTUS OIL EUCALYPTUS OIL EUCALYPTUS OIL EUCALYPTUS OIL EUCALYPTUS OIL EUCALYPTUS OIL

Is there an echo in here?

Or try singing one of those long traditional ballads.

I'm reminded of the Great Western Motel Judy and I once resided in after a weekend at the Mystic Sea Music Festival. It was a dark and stormy night and there was no way we were going to make it home to Maine in one piece so we began looking for motel signs (this was before GPS) and finally we spotted one and targeted the next exit, which after several winding foggy miles ended up at said motel. Well, they did have one vacant room and we were very appreciative. We settled in. There was no evidence of a recent ax murder. Then Judy paid a visit to the bathroom and screamed! Screaming is very distracting when one is trying to get to sleep after a long drive but as the screaming continued I thought it prudent (for our continuing marriage) to investigate. Once inside the bathroom I began to scream as well! The ants were marching along the top of the shower stall and then down to the faucet, getting a drink and then marching up again. There most have been several dozen million of them. It was late at night and we knew there was no other room available at the inn. So we barricaded the bathroom with towels and went to sleep.

If we only had had some eucalyptus leaves or oil!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: open mike
Date: 10 Jul 10 - 01:38 PM

get a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pileated_Woodpecker

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: gnu
Date: 10 Jul 10 - 01:50 PM

Not likely see a Cock Of The North in town unless it has a lunch pail with it.

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: gnu
Date: 03 Aug 10 - 02:32 PM

Right. I haven't seen any more carpenter ants in my house or garage. I used some insectigone at a couple of spots at the garage perimeter and I got rid of a couple of heavy duty saw horses I made twenty years ago.

So, anyone got any cool tricks for earwigs? I have set out a low can (salmon tin) with a half inch of cooking oil and a piece of a peach in it. I hope there are not a lot of earwigs in it in the morning because this is at Mum's and she really doesn't like bugs.

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: mayomick
Date: 03 Aug 10 - 03:12 PM

hit them on the head with a hammer .

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Aug 10 - 05:45 PM

Earmuffs?

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: How to get rid of carpenter ants?
From: gnu
Date: 03 Aug 10 - 06:26 PM

They ain't singin, Charley. They're just crawlin around buggin Mum.