About two months ago the DW had a tandem load of wood chips dumped in the driveway. We spread the chips along the side of the house about 6 inches thick (with a brick pavers the last 10 inches to the house) we still have a massive pile in the driveway.
Today while helping my neighbor but up a thermometer, I notice the whole side of the house is crawling with what looks to be a winged ant, they are about 1/2 inch, black, and moving real slow….
called the local pest guys, but no one can look at it till monday.
Does anyone know of a good online bug ID site, and should I start taking the mulch to the town dump tommorrow?
Hmph….
Replies
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/selectnewpest.home.html
Most likely, winged ants..I was a PCO for awhile in the NE, termites don't redily swarm like ants do in the fall...
If you have a major concern, a Malothion spray will eradicte the pesky ones, but te larvae will be there, possibly untouched, being a s Malothion is contact type pesticide.
I'd have to say. don't worry..they'll swarm and be gone in a heart beat when frost gets to them..if in doubt, turn the pile like a compost situation, and expose the buggers to nature.
A compost type situation will self heat and destroy some of the soon to be critters.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"I don't think it's funny no more" Nick Lowe.
So after my big time freak out, I get up and find that they are all gone. not in the wood chips, not on the foundation... no where.
I guess they left for greener pastures...
Yup.Right into your foundation and frame.;o)
"And, in my humble view, neither Democratic nor Republican party politics has anything to do with lib or con anymore. It's now just pandering to the visceral hatred that's been bred amongst those who refuse to waste their time and energy performing one of the singular most difficult tasks known to man: thinking." -SHG
Oh, I still have an expert coming to look at it, and got a couple of the little buggers in a ball jar too...
We had a bunch of those great big (3/4" - 1") "winged ant" creatures around here last year. My pest guy told me they were probably carpenter ants, though he had never seen them quite so large. He dusted and baited for them, and they seemed to go away. I could just picture them chewing up my house framing. Apparently, bad infestations of carpenter ants are actually audible, but I hope I never get to find out if that's true.
Anyway, I hope you get rid of them.