After replacing some sheathing that was damaged by carpenter ants, someone suggested spraying an insecticide on the outside to hopefully protect against further damage in the future. The house is a split and the sill plate, sheathing, and siding are within approx. 8″ of the ground at the rear of the house. There doesn’t appear to be any carpenter ant activity now.
I bought something from HD for this purpose, and my question is whether to just spray the foundation or to point the sprayer under the shingles and spray where the top of the foundation meets the sill plate? It appears from reading the directions on the insecticide it can be applied to wood, but I’d rather not find out I should have just sprayed the foundation after the fact. I could provide the name of the product if that makes a difference.
TIA,
Ron
Replies
The problem is that carpenter ant's don't "attack" wood. They find decaying wood to build there nest in.
So the insecticides might help prevent future arpenter ants it will not sovle the real problem.
Thanks for the response Bill. As far as I can tell, all the rotted wood has been replaced and there is no additional carpenter ant activity. I figure that in the rear of the house it's only 8" or so for ants to travel and find a free lunch so putting down some type of chemical that keeps them away wouldn't be a bad idea.
Ron
I just had carpenter ants making a nest in polystyrene insulation I put in the corner of my new building when putting up the walls. I was not happy to see those little piles of "dust".
I drilled holes every 2' or so through the corner stud, from the inside, into the insulation and doused them with Dianzonal (?) spray. Next morning there were many dead ants and no more activity to be found. I also sprayed around my entire foundation...I more or less figure that might be a matter of course for awhile. I suppose it goes with building back in the woods.
Probably not much help...but close to my heart.
Thanks for the response Bruce... I'm curious as to where you sprayed "around the foundation".... Was this on the concrete, into the sill,
on the ground? I guess my question is whether the insecticide will protect or possibly do damage to the sill plate if I get some on it..
Thanks,
Ron
I sprayed mostly on the concrete and on the ground. I still have Tyvek siding...some no doubt on that. My sheating covers my sill plate...I can't imagine there'd be any problems with the stuff on your sill plate. But I am certain no expert.
I think the most important thing is just to keep a watchful eye out for them. They are more active at night...based on reading and visual experience!
My carpenter ant experience was with rotten sills on an 1812 cape in Maine. Wherever water or moiture infiltration was problem, there were carpenter ants. Eliminate the rot, remove the source of the water, and no more ants! Good luck.
My understanding is that, as previously stated, carpenter ants don't attack wood but rather move in to damp and rotted wood. Fix leaks and replace the damaged wood. Around here it is considered good practice to replace the old wood with PT wood.
While not exactly the same situation I did have luck controlling the carpenter ants nesting in an old wooden shed by sprinkling the surrounding area with Amdro. I applied it each week for three weeks. Spreading a light dusting around the perimeter. In one month I could no longer find the once numerous ants.
It is supposed to work by being back to the nest where it poisons the queen. Without a queen the nest slowly dies of old age. I like this stuff because it is cheap, fairly effective and relatively safe for pets and children. You might give ita try. Please post how things work out.
try Bora-Care http://www.PRGinc.com
Most (not all) varieties of North American ants are carpenter ants and they come in all sizes. And most are outdoor foragers and just like warm, dry, dark places to build their colonies. Some varieties, especially those great big black guys, don't need moisture for their nests and really don't go after woodwork, but they come and go and pack in food and small rocks and all kinds of crap and leave ferome trails so they can keep coming back and they're persistent as hell.
I have a longtime client from out of state who has a vacation home nearby that I maintain and we've been fighting one ant colony in that place for 10 years. The ants enter the house by climbing trees, walking branches to a phone line and into whatever small cracks they can find under the eaves. We recently got rid of them for the first time using a Professional exterminator, but as sure as I'm sitting here, they'll be baaaack!
http://www.umass.edu/bmatwt/bugs.html
Nice article on carpenter ants and termites.
Thanks for all the feedback on this; much appreciated!
Ron