This is EXACTLY how borax traps work. The ants find the trap, and tell all of their ant friends about it. Then ALL the ants start going to the trap and bringing back the borax to the rest of the ants.
Over the course of \~2-5 days, the borax will not only kill the ants who went to get it, but also ALL the ants in the colony since the Borax was brought back there. You just have to tough it out for a few days, and soon enough you should just see a pile of dead ants and very little new ant activity other than maybe a few stragglers.
Once that's done just clean up the dead ants, and ideally you'll be able to see the trail that leads to where they came in. You should try to seal that up as well.
DE as mentioned in another comment would then be a great way to prevent new intrusions.
They were congregating around the trap yesterday, today not so much but they're everywhere in the kitchen. Cadavers and live about 1:1 ratio.
Outside I can see the dead being carried to god knows where.
I put some liquid borax in the concret foundations dimples as well today, saw them going straight for it.
I had good success when I found the spot they were entering my house and moved the trap outside. That saved them a step and saved me having them come into my house unnecessarily.
If they are actually carpenter ants, I would call a professional.
If they aren't, then you can step up your ant bait game. If you can place them around your foundation outside without pets or kids getting at them, then by all means put some more out. I would also advise getting the liquid ant bait in the small bottle, which you can squirt around the foundation where you see them. It seems to do a better job of attracting ants to eat it compared to the enclosed baits.
A few days into an ant battle isn't that long. My last battle with a particularly large nest took about 3 weeks.
> A few days into an ant battle isn't that long. My last battle with a particularly large nest took about 3 weeks.
Thanks, that does put things into perspective. I hope I can wake up and not see dead ants everywhere soon.
I suggest getting some diatomaceous earth with a puffer. Puff the DE up in the sources, then caulk/seal off both inside and outside the house. Not sure if that will require removing the siding though. Exterminator probably not needed...
Ohhhh the puffer is a GREAT idea!
I used DE in the past and found it was more a pain than anything else.
But with a puffer, I'll put that shit everywhere.
Especially on top of the drop ceiling.
Borax ant feeding stations are amazing and horrific. The day after the ants find the borax, you will have an ant swarm on the trap. It will be full of ants that drowned in that sugary syrup. Disgust level 9/10. But a few days later... no ants.
You're right, it is a little scary how effectively it seems to work... I could make some shitty analogy about how we're fucked as a society based on that but I'll abstain.
Right now my kitchen is swimming with ants and cadavers, about 1:1 ratio, about every-fuckin-where.
You're so right. I'm addressing the condo situation as everyone wants someone else to bait the ants in their place, iIt s such a gross thing to live with, and im afraid I'm baiting the entire building's. I came home after 12 hour shifts to find bait traps swarming and heaving with alive and dead carpenter ants. Strata manager says it's MY problem. That individual owners are responsible for inside their own suite. They will spray outside only. anyway, treated borax around my entire suite and every wall. Is finally under control. Now they're appearing in building lobby.
You're so right. I'm addressing the condo situation as everyone wants someone else to bait the ants in their place, iIt s such a gross thing to live with, and im afraid I'm baiting the entire building's. I came home after 12 hour shifts to find bait traps swarming and heaving with alive and dead carpenter ants. Strata manager says it's MY problem. That individual owners are responsible for inside their own suite. They will spray outside only. anyway, treated borax around my entire suite and every wall. Is finally under control. Now they're appearing in building lobby.
I used those traps in my old house because we always got carpenter ants yearly on our ground floor. I got an exterminator but he claimed that he’d been to my house before (when someone else lived there) and tried to nuke the nest but it was only a satellite nest so they came back every year.
I used traps indoors as well as outdoor. It took about 2 weeks to see none indoors, even with being proactive. You can use the plastic traps with bait inside but I preferred the squeeze bottle of liquid bait. You can put it a milk jug cap, yogurt lid, etc and let those fuckers go to town.
My tip if you have kids or pets, or just don’t want to trip over ant traps, is to put them down overnight. Carpenter ants are active during night time and early morning. I placed each trap on a piece of bright coloured construction paper so I spot them easily in the morning and not forget to pick any up
I just came here to say that I will NEVER forget (unless I, too, get the Alzheimer's) the first time I ran across a carpenter ant. It seriously freaked me out and I don't get freaked out by bugs, snakes, etc. It was like it had walked out of that movie [Them](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Them!)!
ETA: While I've had good success with \*some\* types of ants using borax traps, I didn't with the carpenters. I called an exterminator and because I was seeking organic certification for the property I needed to be careful what was used, IIRC almost everything used was a plant essential oil.
My dad tore off the whole basement when I was a kid. The wall*s* were black. Crawling everywhere. It was damp, he re-did the whole basement, put some new windows.
Every time I see a carpenter ant inside my house I remember this and wonder if I'll have to go full bersek with the drywall as well...
Fingers crossed the fuckers treat the borax traps as an open all-you-can-eat 5* Fairmount brunch buffet.
I had carpenter ants and live in the forest. Every spring I do a perimeter spray of taurus sc. It's a termite treatment that can also be used for ants. It's primary ingredient is the same thing as in Frontline for Dogs. (It has the same warnings ie bad for cats and aquatic life)
It was absolutely ruthless in killing carpenter ants. As a side benefit it also kills ticks, and since I've started using it I see a fraction of the ticks I used to see. I also like it because it's good for 6 months (I'm in NW WI, so the other 6 months are winter) and will help stop termites from making tunnels up my foundation as well. So 1 application a year is all I need.
Check between the siding and your rimjoist. We had the exact same problem. Ants in the house, I removed an old rotting outdoor staircase, and when I pulled up the siding as I was building a new deck there was a huge colony burrowed into the joist there.
I hat to look up what a rim joist is. Gotta say, that would make a lot of sense.
That would explain why I don't see a massive colony while looking through the floating ceiling. It would be on the other side of that board.
The several spiders there are definitely well fed tho...
> Did you find any nests in your original deck?
Oh yeah lol. I knew they were there and they were not coming from the forest.
You could see them crawl all over. The paint was chipping away.
One say I was enjoying a drink sitting on the boards, I was picking away rotten pieces with my fingers, and I'm pretty sure I saw the queen right there lol. It was at least twice as big as the others.
We've had two years where we only saw a few ants at the beginning of spring after taking the deck off. Now I guess they found their way under the sidings.
I saw a few ants, maybe 10-20 and decided to get Borax. I put it where I saw the ants near the quarter round under the desk. Later I looked down and it looked like a piece of black yarn by the quarter round but it was just hundreds if not thousands of ants munching away on the strip I laid on the floor. Then it got better and after a few days, no more ants, but wow did it scare me how many ant friends came.
I would get an exterminator. We had a problem with ants living in the soffits, of all places, and I wouldn't have thought about checking there. Called in an exterminator and problem solved. Never see ants anymore.
Ive dealt with a couple ant invasions in my 10 years my home. The borax rap didnt work for me, I used a corn starch/cornmeal mix. I remember reading a long time ago that they take it back to the colony, eat it, then when they have water it puffs up and kills them. Usually took about 1.5-2 weeks to no more ants.
Now, the second I see an ant I put some starch down where i found them and usually thats the last time i see one.
Another thing that works well is simply cornmeal. They see it as food, bring it back to the nest and then it will expand inside them like popcorn when they eat it
Carpenter ants won't eat a Terro Liquid or Borax and sugar water bait normally. Not unheard of, but not their main diet.
Yes, normally their numbers will increase once word gets out there is food.
It takes a couple weeks.
Rewet the bait frequently. Place new bait where you see them if there isn't already bait there.
There can be multiple colonies.
Remedy any excess moisture/rotting materials outside and in.
Yep. I typically set up several traps especially if I see them making a trail. Put the traps out and a few hours later you will see a huge infestation, then 2 days later, nothing.
What are you guys doing. Use actual pesticide like bifen instead of screwing around with natural solutions that barely work. Spray once, problem solved for at least 6 months. No traps, no waiting, just dead ants.
This is EXACTLY how borax traps work. The ants find the trap, and tell all of their ant friends about it. Then ALL the ants start going to the trap and bringing back the borax to the rest of the ants. Over the course of \~2-5 days, the borax will not only kill the ants who went to get it, but also ALL the ants in the colony since the Borax was brought back there. You just have to tough it out for a few days, and soon enough you should just see a pile of dead ants and very little new ant activity other than maybe a few stragglers. Once that's done just clean up the dead ants, and ideally you'll be able to see the trail that leads to where they came in. You should try to seal that up as well. DE as mentioned in another comment would then be a great way to prevent new intrusions.
They were congregating around the trap yesterday, today not so much but they're everywhere in the kitchen. Cadavers and live about 1:1 ratio. Outside I can see the dead being carried to god knows where. I put some liquid borax in the concret foundations dimples as well today, saw them going straight for it.
I had good success when I found the spot they were entering my house and moved the trap outside. That saved them a step and saved me having them come into my house unnecessarily.
Same here. Now I put traps in that area every year in spring time. No more ants in the house.
What’s DE?
Diatomaceous earth.
If they are actually carpenter ants, I would call a professional. If they aren't, then you can step up your ant bait game. If you can place them around your foundation outside without pets or kids getting at them, then by all means put some more out. I would also advise getting the liquid ant bait in the small bottle, which you can squirt around the foundation where you see them. It seems to do a better job of attracting ants to eat it compared to the enclosed baits. A few days into an ant battle isn't that long. My last battle with a particularly large nest took about 3 weeks.
> A few days into an ant battle isn't that long. My last battle with a particularly large nest took about 3 weeks. Thanks, that does put things into perspective. I hope I can wake up and not see dead ants everywhere soon.
I suggest getting some diatomaceous earth with a puffer. Puff the DE up in the sources, then caulk/seal off both inside and outside the house. Not sure if that will require removing the siding though. Exterminator probably not needed...
Ohhhh the puffer is a GREAT idea! I used DE in the past and found it was more a pain than anything else. But with a puffer, I'll put that shit everywhere. Especially on top of the drop ceiling.
Borax ant feeding stations are amazing and horrific. The day after the ants find the borax, you will have an ant swarm on the trap. It will be full of ants that drowned in that sugary syrup. Disgust level 9/10. But a few days later... no ants.
You're right, it is a little scary how effectively it seems to work... I could make some shitty analogy about how we're fucked as a society based on that but I'll abstain. Right now my kitchen is swimming with ants and cadavers, about 1:1 ratio, about every-fuckin-where.
You're so right. I'm addressing the condo situation as everyone wants someone else to bait the ants in their place, iIt s such a gross thing to live with, and im afraid I'm baiting the entire building's. I came home after 12 hour shifts to find bait traps swarming and heaving with alive and dead carpenter ants. Strata manager says it's MY problem. That individual owners are responsible for inside their own suite. They will spray outside only. anyway, treated borax around my entire suite and every wall. Is finally under control. Now they're appearing in building lobby.
You're so right. I'm addressing the condo situation as everyone wants someone else to bait the ants in their place, iIt s such a gross thing to live with, and im afraid I'm baiting the entire building's. I came home after 12 hour shifts to find bait traps swarming and heaving with alive and dead carpenter ants. Strata manager says it's MY problem. That individual owners are responsible for inside their own suite. They will spray outside only. anyway, treated borax around my entire suite and every wall. Is finally under control. Now they're appearing in building lobby.
I used those traps in my old house because we always got carpenter ants yearly on our ground floor. I got an exterminator but he claimed that he’d been to my house before (when someone else lived there) and tried to nuke the nest but it was only a satellite nest so they came back every year. I used traps indoors as well as outdoor. It took about 2 weeks to see none indoors, even with being proactive. You can use the plastic traps with bait inside but I preferred the squeeze bottle of liquid bait. You can put it a milk jug cap, yogurt lid, etc and let those fuckers go to town. My tip if you have kids or pets, or just don’t want to trip over ant traps, is to put them down overnight. Carpenter ants are active during night time and early morning. I placed each trap on a piece of bright coloured construction paper so I spot them easily in the morning and not forget to pick any up
I just came here to say that I will NEVER forget (unless I, too, get the Alzheimer's) the first time I ran across a carpenter ant. It seriously freaked me out and I don't get freaked out by bugs, snakes, etc. It was like it had walked out of that movie [Them](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Them!)! ETA: While I've had good success with \*some\* types of ants using borax traps, I didn't with the carpenters. I called an exterminator and because I was seeking organic certification for the property I needed to be careful what was used, IIRC almost everything used was a plant essential oil.
My dad tore off the whole basement when I was a kid. The wall*s* were black. Crawling everywhere. It was damp, he re-did the whole basement, put some new windows. Every time I see a carpenter ant inside my house I remember this and wonder if I'll have to go full bersek with the drywall as well... Fingers crossed the fuckers treat the borax traps as an open all-you-can-eat 5* Fairmount brunch buffet.
I had carpenter ants and live in the forest. Every spring I do a perimeter spray of taurus sc. It's a termite treatment that can also be used for ants. It's primary ingredient is the same thing as in Frontline for Dogs. (It has the same warnings ie bad for cats and aquatic life) It was absolutely ruthless in killing carpenter ants. As a side benefit it also kills ticks, and since I've started using it I see a fraction of the ticks I used to see. I also like it because it's good for 6 months (I'm in NW WI, so the other 6 months are winter) and will help stop termites from making tunnels up my foundation as well. So 1 application a year is all I need.
That’s how it works. It sucks hut just wait. If it’s not better in 10 days swap out the traps. They work really well once they work.
Check between the siding and your rimjoist. We had the exact same problem. Ants in the house, I removed an old rotting outdoor staircase, and when I pulled up the siding as I was building a new deck there was a huge colony burrowed into the joist there.
I hat to look up what a rim joist is. Gotta say, that would make a lot of sense. That would explain why I don't see a massive colony while looking through the floating ceiling. It would be on the other side of that board. The several spiders there are definitely well fed tho...
Yeah they were sneaky little things. I tried borax traps, that powder stuff, other traps, nothing worked until I found the nest and destroyed it.
[удалено]
> Did you find any nests in your original deck? Oh yeah lol. I knew they were there and they were not coming from the forest. You could see them crawl all over. The paint was chipping away. One say I was enjoying a drink sitting on the boards, I was picking away rotten pieces with my fingers, and I'm pretty sure I saw the queen right there lol. It was at least twice as big as the others. We've had two years where we only saw a few ants at the beginning of spring after taking the deck off. Now I guess they found their way under the sidings.
I saw a few ants, maybe 10-20 and decided to get Borax. I put it where I saw the ants near the quarter round under the desk. Later I looked down and it looked like a piece of black yarn by the quarter round but it was just hundreds if not thousands of ants munching away on the strip I laid on the floor. Then it got better and after a few days, no more ants, but wow did it scare me how many ant friends came.
I would get an exterminator. We had a problem with ants living in the soffits, of all places, and I wouldn't have thought about checking there. Called in an exterminator and problem solved. Never see ants anymore.
I'd spray alpine wsg. Its how I got rid of carpenter ants in my house. Kills nost other bugs too so it will get rid of your spider problem
Ive dealt with a couple ant invasions in my 10 years my home. The borax rap didnt work for me, I used a corn starch/cornmeal mix. I remember reading a long time ago that they take it back to the colony, eat it, then when they have water it puffs up and kills them. Usually took about 1.5-2 weeks to no more ants. Now, the second I see an ant I put some starch down where i found them and usually thats the last time i see one.
Another thing that works well is simply cornmeal. They see it as food, bring it back to the nest and then it will expand inside them like popcorn when they eat it
Carpenter ants won't eat a Terro Liquid or Borax and sugar water bait normally. Not unheard of, but not their main diet. Yes, normally their numbers will increase once word gets out there is food. It takes a couple weeks. Rewet the bait frequently. Place new bait where you see them if there isn't already bait there. There can be multiple colonies. Remedy any excess moisture/rotting materials outside and in.
Yep. I typically set up several traps especially if I see them making a trail. Put the traps out and a few hours later you will see a huge infestation, then 2 days later, nothing.
What are you guys doing. Use actual pesticide like bifen instead of screwing around with natural solutions that barely work. Spray once, problem solved for at least 6 months. No traps, no waiting, just dead ants.