2006-07-26 08:11:06 · 10 answers · asked by lisa a 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Other - Home & Garden
Carpenter ants like wet wood. They burrow tunnels through it for their colony. If you have a wood pile or rotten tree near the house, remove it or move it further away.
Otherwise you probably have a rotting beam somewhere. Under a porch or old deck are good places to start looking. Structures will sag after enough burrowing. Spongy wood that is soft to the touch is another sign.
You won't need an exterminator but you will need a carpenter or similarly capable handyman to replace the rotting wood.
2006-07-26 08:43:57 · answer #1 · answered by David K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Big black ants are usually carpenter ants. They make satellite nests in and around homes. The main nest is usually outside, sometimes in the ground or near a tree or in a tree. These ants are most active at night or in the evenings. They do not eat wood, but do chew through it to make nests and eat other insects. A large infestation of Carpenter Ants may cause damage to wood. See if you can follow one back to the nest. Once you find it, saturate with a insecticide labeled for ant control. If that does not work, call a exterminator. We have a great kind of bait called Advance CA Bait. Placed out correctly the ants will take it back to nests and in a few days it will kill them off.
Jamm0069-Technical Director, Bruce Terminix Company,NC
Certified Entomologist
2006-07-26 08:34:05 · answer #2 · answered by jamm0069 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Synephrine is a naturally occuring chemical found in orange pulp and rind. Assuming you don't want to use the many available general poison compounds, you could try running 2-3 oranges through your blender then pouring the substance around the opening to the ant's nest site. Word is that the ants will take the synephrine laden substance to their queen who will not be able to process it and will die. It will also kill the workers. It worked for us on a nest of smaller ants. They just didn't come out of their hole the next morning.
2006-07-26 08:31:35 · answer #3 · answered by The Answer Man 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Big black ants tend to be carpenter ants, which will eat all the wood out of your house. You need to call an exterminator to get rid of them that problem. Also, if you want to KEEP them out after the exterminator is done, you should trim any trees that are touching your house. This is how they get in.
2006-07-26 08:18:11 · answer #4 · answered by melawson84 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a wet spot outside my house which attacts them and then they find there way into the house. I have tried pouring comet the cleaner for sinks and stuff on the wet spot and around all the door ways or where ever they may be coming in and where i have seen them out around the house.. seems to be working haven't seen them for quiet some time now.
I have also heard that baby powder works the same.. so take your pick.. the comet is cheaper or ajax. which ever you have on hand..will work.. Hope this works for you as well as it did for me.
2006-07-26 08:18:34 · answer #5 · answered by Sandy F 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Windex
2006-07-26 08:14:39 · answer #6 · answered by Shadow 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ant "motels" just like the roach kind. that or ant bait works really great. killl them all in a couple of days or so.
2006-07-26 08:14:19 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
there are stick pads for mice but put food on top of one and theyll get stuck
2006-07-26 08:14:18 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
pure boiling water on the nest
2006-07-26 08:14:32 · answer #9 · answered by NONAME 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
u pick them up and eat them ...and tah dah there gone!!!
2006-07-26 08:15:15 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋