Carpenter Ants in Island Home
 

Hello,

I have a home on Bear Island and have a carpenter ant problem. I know where they're coming in and out -- unfortunately it's at the peak of a two story open portion of the home. We've placed bait traps as close as we could get them to the area but they are still several feet away. Now that the warm weather is here they are starting to swarm in the house! Is there an exterminator that does island calls?


Update 8/13/16: Island Services works with a local exterminator. They brought him to my house on Bear Island during the week when the house was empty. Island Services knows how to enter the home because they do occasional work for us. I am happy to report that we are now ant free! Thank you everyone for your advice.

You need Terro liquid bait traps. They can be bought at Lowes. No need for an exterminator. Find where the ants are climbing up the wall to start their ascent to the peak of your home. Pour a bit of Terro on a piece of paper. I sometimes add some sugar on the plate. Grab a couple of the ants and drop them in the sugar/Terro. They will usually start to eat the bait. Once they do they will go get their friends and you will be on your way. They a will bring the poison back to the queen. Try and see their activity after dark when they are most active. After they start eating the bait it will be over in a day or so. Very effective stuff. I believe it has Borax. This poison wasn't available to the pubic until a few years ago. Good luck.

This is the best stuff I have ever used......have not had an ant problem in over 10 years. Terro Perimeter Ant Bait Plus: http://www.terro.com/terro-perimeter-ant-bait-plus

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but carpenter ants like wet wood. Are you able to see into that part of the house to check for rot? Eliminate that and they will go away.

As for the terro, great stuff.

Ant bait
 

I had an exterminator several years ago for a "one time" treatment. Worked OK but the tech said I could do the same thing with stuff from the hardware store. The benefit was that he had a better idea of where to apply the treatment. The downside was that the sales office didn't understand the words "one time" or "island". They called all winter long trying to schedule the next quarterly treatment. (Termiix) I also called JP Pest as I have used them successfully to plug holes and otherwise prevent little critters as well as insects from entering. They won't do islands.

I don't recall a brand name but I bought stuff at Lowes that was very good, as described by others. Some placed on the ground around the perimeter, Plastic containers/traps, not subject to pet access) and some in a dispenser tube that I placed on seams near where activity was apparent. The activity was up high,the bait went on the floor where the wall and floor meet. Worked great, took a couple of days, I guess. I placed it Sunday night when we left so pets and little kids would not be around the bait.

The Terro liguid bait above works best on sugar ants. Carpenters wont have any interest in that. Like above Carpenters like wet wood. Find the source. I have had great luck spraying the foundations with Ant Shield (Home Depot) and also with Triazicide granuals around the perimeter of the house. If you can find the wet are Open up the siding and get some granuals inside.

I bought Grants from a farm store, It killed a colony of carpenter ants in 2 days, I was shocked.

As mentioned in another post, if they are true "carpenter" ants they will only be found in wet areas. You need to see where you have something leaking. The good part is if they are carpenter ants they have indicated to you that you have wet wood somewhere and if you repair it they will go away. I bought a house many years ago and when remodeling I opened up a wall to find carpenter ant damage. You could see the staining from the water on the studs but apparently the leak was repaired and there was no sign of the ants.

Island pest issues
 

We had major issues with carpenter ants - since then we have the exterminator out every year. We use Hampshire pest, he comes out to the island (we meet him and bring him over on the boat).

will the term also work on termites, not sure whether the ants i have are carpenter ants or termites

Termites are not prevalent in the lakes region. In fact some years ago I was told that there are none. With warmer winters this may be changing.

modern
 

modern pest control got rid of all the carpenter ants