Safety

Always read the entire label on the pesticide container and keep in strict accordance with it. Make sure the pest or pests you are controlling is on the label and wear any safety equipment that is recommended. KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF ant control CHILDREN AND DOMESTIC PETS.

Always wear rubber gloves and protective eye glasses when mixing concentrates into the diluted form. Wear respirator when mixing wettable powders, using dusts, spraying overhead or fogging.

If pesticide comes in contact with skin wash with soap and cold water. Remove any contaminated clothing and wash separately from other clothing. If material comes in contact with eyes, flush with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes and seek the help of a physician.

Trade and brand names are used only for information or reference. Other products may be suitable and work just as well.

Equipment

Stainless steel sprayers and dusters can be purchased from some pest control companies that sell over the counter pesticides and equipment to the public. The cost of this equipment may be more than the "DO-IT-YOURSELFER" wants to pay but the gear will give you many years of service. For the sake of expense, some professional equipment can be substituted for items you may already have.

• Safety Glasses.
• Rubber Gloves.
• Chemical Absorbing Respirator, at least a Dust Mask.
• Hand Compressed Sprayer or Squirt Bottle for Small Jobs.
• Duster - A plastic squeezable mustard or catsup bottle with nipple.
• Funnel and Measuring Cup
• Ladder

Note - Always wear safety glasses and rubber gloves when handling concentrates. Never breathe in splash-back of sprays or dusts. Never sacrifice safety for expense.

Carpenter ants are not true eaters of wood as one might think, but they hollow out wood to nest in. Carpenter ants are a social insect with complete metamorphosis, (egg, larva, pupa, adult). The wingless ants seen crawling around the house are the workers (sterile females) and do all the work of the colony. They range in size form ¼ inch to 5/8 inch and may be entirely black or black and red in color. The reproductives bear wings and swarm to mate in the spring and early summer. The workers excavate tunnels called galleries along the grain of the wood. The coarse sawdust is dropped out of the nest leaving the galleries clean and smooth.

The key to eliminating carpenter ants is finding the nest. This is not always easy and you may never visibly see it. But don't despair, the problem can still be eliminated or controlled. Carpenter ants can nest in almost any space or void that a structure has, but the most prevalent areas are moisture areas.

The first indication that you have carpenter ants is usually the foraging of workers, sawdust, or a crunching sound in the wall or beam. The workers normally appear on the kitchen counter, in the sink, dishwasher, bathrooms or anywhere there is moisture. It could be moisture around entrance areas, condensation from pipes, leaks, areas that do not get much sun and can be attracted by kitchen spills.

Lets start in the cellar. KEEP CHILDREN AND DOMESTIC PETS OUT OF THE AREA WHILE OPERATING AND UNTIL DRY (3 to 4 hours). Get a 6 foot step ladder, fill your duster 7/8's full of dust and mix a half gallon of diluted spray from concentrate. Don your respirator and wear any protective gear recommended on the label of your pesticide. Start in a corner and pull back the insulation (if applicable) in all four corners, 90 degree angles from extensions and entrance areas. Pull back the insulation from plumbing areas along the perimeter of the foundation and center of cellar and look for the ants themselves or sawdust. Puff a little dust ( 2 or 3 puffs) behind the insulation, whether there are ants or not and replace the insulation. Sometimes there is a small gap between the floor and the top of the mudsill joist. If there is, puff some dust into the gap or crack wherever it is found, whether you see ants or not. If you find ants puff dust on the ants and keep pulling the insulation until you do not see anymore. A nest can take up 3 to 5 wall voids or can be as little as a few ants here and there. You can also have more than one nest, so be thorough. Puff dust into any voids beneath bath tub, bathroom sinks or showers from the cellar. If the ants have tunneled into the wood drill ¼ inch holes every 6 to 8 inches and puff dust into the galleries (tunnels) of the nest.

If the cellar does not have insulation and is wide open, look for sawdust and any obvious activity. Look for exit holes in the area of the sawdust and drill into the wood every 6 to 8 inches. If the wood is solid stop. If the sawdust is in the area of an entrance you may want to do any drilling on the outside of the house. Carpenter ants love to get between the kick-plate of the entrance and the first 2 x 8 joist of the house.

With the diluted pesticide that you previously prepared, lightly spray the mudsill after putting the insulation back in it's proper place. Be careful not to spray open conduit boxes or live electrical wiring, wear neoprene gloves as a safety precaution. If treatment around electrical boxes and junction boxes is necessary, use the dust formulation. Spray along the base boards of the entire cellar and any stray ants. Keep children and domestic pets out of the area until dry. Grab your gear and lets go up stairs.

If the kitchen counter and sink is against the exterior wall, pull out all the top drawers and put them out of the way. Put on neoprene gloves and drill ¼ inch holes every 13 inches into the wall. If the wall is sheetrock it should go through easily. Do not force the drill, you may be on a pipe or electrical wire. Move over 3 inches and try again. Stick the nipple of your duster into these holes so you have a snug fit and puff dust 4 to 5 times into each hole. The snug fit insures the dust does not come back at you. Have your respirator on as a precaution. Keep the holes up high and out of sight. Get down on your hands and knees and feel on top of the kick plate for a opening to the voids under the kitchen counter. If there is access puff some dust into these voids (3 to 5 puffs). If there is no access, drill the kick plate to access beneath the false bottoms of the kitchen counter every 13 inches. Keep the holes up high and out of sight.

Take your duster into the bathroom. Find access beneath the false bottom of the bathroom sink and puff dust. Puff dust into wall void if plumbing is going into the wall. Check where the toilet sits on the floor. If there is a gap or space, puff a little dust under the toilet. Ants love to live there. If you didn't have access to under the tub from the cellar, find access here. You may find access through the bathroom closet. If there is no access, drill a ¼ inch hole a few inches off the floor and puff dust under the tub. Pull back the molding around the shower head and puff dust into the wall void. Do the same to the bathroom upstairs.

This picks up the strays and the residual will kill others coming out of the wall for several weeks. Keep children and domestic pets out of the area until dry (3 to 4 hours depending on humidity).

Go into the attic with a flashlight and your duster. Look around for sawdust or a lot of dead ant bodies. The dead bodies only tell you that they may be under the insulation. No need to fog. Pull up the insulation and puff dust in all four corners and beneath any vents, replace the insulation. Grab your gear and lets go outside.

Fill your duster and don your respirator. Puff dust up all corners and ninety degree angles of the structure. Puff dust into the cracks and crevices of the kick plates of all entrances and door jambs of the garage. While going around the house keep your eyes open for any ant trails or any other obvious ant activity that may give away the nest. Put on neoprene gloves and drill all corners and ninety degree angles of the house. Drill the holes about waist high and at 13 inch intervals to insure access to 3 or 4 voids. If you hit a stud move over 3 inches and drill again. Puff dust into the voids (6 to 8 times). Drill holes 6 to 8 inches apart into the kick plate of all entrances. At first do not go all the way through but penetrate the 1 inch kick plate and about half the 2 x 8 behind it. Puff dust into the holes. If the dust comes back at you, stop. If you could not service behind an entrance from the cellar, drill all the way through to get to the interior and puff dust into the holes. You may need a longer boring bit to get to the other side. Repair the holes cosmetically, with glazing compound or 1 inch cuts of ¼ inch dowels, personal preference.

Mix another half gallon of diluted spray for your foundation treatment. Trim any tall grass up against the foundation. Dogs and cats eat grass. Keep children and domestic pets out of the area while operating and until dry. The nozzle of your sprayer should be on fan or cone. Start at a corner and direct the spray to the mudsill area (the area where the foundation meets the first wood members of the house). Also spray the 90 degree angle where the ground meets the foundation wall. Spray it at low pressure as to wet it, should not drip or run off, usually 3 passovers is sufficient. Spray around doors and windows, any obvious ant trails and stray ants. Carpenter ant treatment is not limited to these areas but these are the most prevalent areas and this treatment will solve about 98 percent of carpenter ant problems.

Carpenter ant treatment is not limited to the above treatment. Other areas to consider if the problem persists.

Hollow interior doors - Pull the pins and lay the door on it's edge. You may hear a rustling noise as you move the door around. Look for the breathing holes on the top and bottom of the door. If ants are in there the breathing holes are usually rounded out and not square. If you think they are in there, take the door outside and puff dust into the holes. Replace the door when activity ceases.

Hollow curtain rods - Take rod outside and spray ants with quick knock down aerosol and replace rod.

Retaining walls - If the retaining wall is made out of logs drill into the galleries (hollowed out tunnels) and puff dust into them.

Stumps and trees - Use existing holes or drill into the galleries and apply dust. Spray the outside of the bole with residual water based spray. If the tree is living and your not planning on taking it down. Apply dust into any existing holes at the base of the tree. Spray the trunk of the tree as high as you can from the ground. Spraying the trunk of the tree may have to be done several times throughout the season if the ants are located in a limb that is high off the ground and you can not find the nest.

Chimney's - Apply dust to cracks and crevices where the chimney abuts the house. Moisture settles between the house and chimney due to faulty caulking and is a common place for carpenter ants to nest.

Use common sense when using pesticides. Read the entire label on the pesticide container. KEEP CHILDREN AND DOMESTIC PETS OUT OF THE AREA WHILE OPERATING AND UNTIL DRY.