Carpenter Ants
The presence of carpenter ants is usually a symptom
of a problem a water leak causing wet/punky wood.
Therefore, it is important to determine the reason the
ants are nesting in the structure, than to kill them.
Your home is much more at risk from water damage, which
attracts carpenter ants, than the ants themselves. Do not
be pressured into buying a long-term spray control
program by a pest control company that does nothing to
locate the nest and link the symptom to the cause.
Carpenter ants are common invaders of dwellings in
Michigan. These ants are opportunistic feeders and invade
households looking for food sources; primarily in the
kitchen and areas where food is eaten or stored. Like
most ants commonly found around the house, carpenter ants
prefer sweet and greasy foods.
Prevention of a carpenter ant infestation requires
that you do at least two things: maintenance of the
structure to deny suitable habitat and maintenance of the
structure to deny access.
Periodically inspect your dwelling for water damaged
wood and take the appropriate steps to correct the
problem. Take special care to carefully inspect areas
where water and other pipes go through walls, base of
toilets, around bath tubs and the base of shower stalls.
Regularly caulk, weather strip or otherwise repair
openings to the out-of-doors such as around window panes,
where pipes go through walls to the outside and the
basement, and door jambs. Check your roof for water
damage under shingles and the slashing around chimneys,
standpipes, and other roof and bathroom vents.
The use of a bait will lure the ants to feed and you will
then be able to watch the ants come and go and
ultimately determine if they are coming from the outside
or have a colony in your dwelling.
Carpenter ants like sweet and greasy foods. Our bait
recipe is two parts jelly or jam an one part canned dog
or cat food (the cheaper the better). The portion doesn't
need to be more than a half a cup. Situate the bait in
the area where you have been observing ants, but safe
from pets and children. The ants will start coming to by
your bait. Observe where they are going. When you see
that they are regularly feeding on your bait it's time to
change the recipe. Mix a new batch of bait, but now mix
boric acid in with the pet food/jelly mixture. The proper
proportion is a tablespoon to every cup of mixture. The
ants will carry the "poisoned" bait back to their colony,
pass the food around, and eventually the colony should be
destroyed.
Indoor formulations of chlorpyrifos can be applied to
areas where nests have been found. Great care should be
taken when using these poisons in the home. Read and
follow instructions on the pesticide label. Heed all
warnings. Do not use these materials in your home if you
have small children, fish in an aquarium, or pet birds.
Check with your physician if you have any concerns
regarding your personal health risk. Other recommended
indoor pesticides are propoxur RTU and baits:
hydramethylnon and propoxur and boric acid.
If you choose to use an insecticide out of doors, a
diazinon 25% EC formulation sprayed completely around the
outside foundation and adjacent one foot of soil is
suggested.
If you have taken all of the steps to prevent or
eliminate these insects through sanitation and/or an
application of insecticide and still seem to have an
infestation, you may have to implement a more vigorous
control program or consider hiring a professional
service.
For a complete listing of suggested control options
for all home, yard and garden insect pests contact your
local Extension Service, found under local government in
the phone book.
Read and follow instructions on the pesticide label.
Heed all warnings. Check with your physician if you have
any concerns regarding your personal health risk.