ants in my cabin

[Hal Nash]

Been awhile since I posted.... My cabin is tight, but suddenly we have been finding some good sized black ants...are they carpenter ants? ... inside.  I have caulked every little space in this one particular corner...sprayed outside....used ant powder (boric acid).  they appear to be chewing up my fiberglass insulation in my walls.  Any thoughts, suggestions, comments?  Thanks.

[Amanda_931]

Does these help?  Google Images looked like it had a bunch of different pictures, including some that looked exactly like plain old Hawaiian termites during swarming season.

I like the entomology department/agricultural extension service sites about the best when I'm searching for pest control.

http://lancaster.unl.edu/enviro/pest/factsheets/004-97.htm

"Description and Habits: The black carpenter ant, Camponotus pennsylvanicus, is the most common carpenter ant species in Nebraska. Foraging workers are 1/4 inch to 5/8 inch and black in color. Another species, the rust-colored carpenter ant, Camponotus ferrugineus, is a bit smaller and has a reddish-orange thorax with a black head and abdomen. The most diagnostic characteristic of all carpenter ants is they have a one-segmented pedicel (the segment between the thorax and the abdomen). The profile of the thorax is evenly rounded and not bumpy".

Just pictures here, but there are is a link to print pages over on the left.


http://www.entm.purdue.edu/entomology/urban/urban_info/ant_photos.html

ants in general, with one of the same pictures of them as in the first Purdue link.  This doesn't read like fire ants had reached Indiana in 2002.

http://www.entm.purdue.edu/Entomology/ext/targets/e-series/EseriesPDF/E-22.pdf

[glenn kangiser]

I've had a couple of dogs die over the years of cancer that I am pretty sure was caused by their getting into some Fiberglass insulation in the barn and sleeping in it.

Maybe it works on ants too  Not likely.

[jemaypatat]

I had ants in the house. Used a mix of Borax and molasses 50/50....they died after short time.

[glenn kangiser]

Thanks Jemaypatat and welcome---that sounds like one to remember.

I'm working Fresno tomorrow -so it's dial-up tonight - like molasses in January without the ants. :-/

[PEG688]

So frenso your finishing concrete/  No your in Frenso , 65 and fog here   Oh wait and rain every day , ya that's right rain , every day . Really  bad rain    HTBH , PEG

[jdew]

Probably carpenter ants - kind of scary when they get real huge - that's when you know they're well fed!

Had them in our house - infact I had a few thousand of them fall out from behind a tiled wall while I was taking a shower - I was traumatized but survived.  Anyways I was able to get rid of them.

From what I understand they prefer to be somewhere that is damp, so where ever you are finding them be sure there are no leaks or anything.  In my case they were living within an interior wall that was next to a shower which was not constructed correctly so the wall boards were soaked.  They were also living in some of the exterior walls in the foam sheathing - they actually had tunnels all through the stuff.

Boric acid will work, but I found the best stuff to be Drione powder.  This is pretty strong stuff so you don't want to use it where kids or pets may get at it.  I would get a small "puffer" - this is the thing where you can put the powder in the container - squeeze it down and it will shoot out through a small nozzle.  This way you can drill small holes in your walls from the inside and insert the nozzle and blow some of it in there.

If you can't find it locally I ordered it / and the little puffer dispenser online.

The good thing about carpenter ants as opposed to termites is that they don't eat the wood.  They will tunnel through to make a home - but it takes them much longer to cause significant damage than termites will.

Good Luck

[afternoonwillow]

ran into a similar problem with the beach camper's add -on...went crazy  since I am limited as to what I can use....had  an 'old wife' tell me to use instant grits...mixed with sugar....about 1 tbsp. sugar to 1 cup grits...sprinkle on their path...they carry it home...it gets eaten...the grits expand..bye bye...I'd tried borax, etc...but this actually worked...also she had me sprinkle chalk..plain old ground up chalk on the edges of the counters in the kitchen...ants will not cross chalk...hope it helps