Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 07, 2000 05:47pm | #18

   *
   Well guys (and gals) - I haven't been here in a while - hoping that things would speed up - but alas......not yet. Anyway - how many of you have long standing history in the battle against carpenter ants? I have been battling these critters for decades.

   I have come to prefer, upon finding the evidence of their presence, to rooting out the "nest" and tossing it on to a recently prepared funeral pyre. The problem is, although it is a highly effective means of control, it isn't always within the customers budget. But then, I'm sure, neither is having their home eaten down to the foundation in their budget.

   For some reason I have an aversion to "pest control" experts. There has been a lot of bad press for them plus I have had the opportunity to know a couple - and am thankful I didn't cold call them to a job. It seems - if they can't sell a long term service contract - then they squirt a little juice and split.

   I'm on a small remodel (started last week) and have excised one nest only to find evidence of at least a couple more. The Pacific NorthWest is some prime habitat for these black hoards and am interested in other's experience and methods.

   Also - what preservatives are you guys using in the field. Since the demise of "penta" I have been using a "copper napthenate" product called "TerminX", but with little confidence.

   Thanks

   Buz

1. 
   Guest_ | Jan 28, 2000 09:52am | #1

   *Any luck out there with boric acid? Definitely works, much less nasty than regular organic pesticides. Also, ant bait that gets carried back to the hive sometimes works. I got rid of two nests pretty easily by killing the intruders and fixing the water problems -- after all, they don't eat wood, just munch through it for living space -- right?

1. 
   Guest_ | Jan 28, 2000 05:34pm | #2

   *Hey Andrew,Where'd you find the Boric Acid? I've looked for it, but can't seem to find it. Is it sold under another name?Maybe I'm not looking in the right places.....Matt

1. 
   Guest_ | Jan 28, 2000 06:24pm | #3

   *If you've got carpenter ants, you've got a water problem. No water, no ants. Carpenter ants by nature are lazy and will not attack dry solid wood. It's the soft wet stuff they love to chew through. Diazanon (spelling?) works for just about any pest around the house. Just dust a one foot wide strip around your foundation. (Make sure the kid's sand box isn't next to the house). Good luck.EB

1. 
   Guest_ | Jan 28, 2000 10:51pm | #4

   *Haven't had to deal with carpenter ants, but the regular garden variety black ants are a nuisance and very rarely I come across an aggressive mound building variety which are particularily troubling.This is a little more on the consumer side of treatment, but I found the garden store variety ant bait to be totally useless. I've never once seen an ant take an interest in any brand, and the little bait packages can sit out all summer without a noticable impact on the ants. Spraying a "kill on contact" pesticide, while a whole lot of fun, doesn't put much of a dent in the ant population.What I did find that works well is a Raid product that comes in a little squeeze bottle. I can't recall the name. It's some kind of liquid ant bait. If you can find one of the entrances to the nest, a few drops of this will take care of them. The ants go nuts over it so you know it's going to be carried back to the queen. They usually disappear within a few days after and don't come back for quite a while. It works especially well for those tiny red ants that like to colonize under patio bricks. A drop between the pavers where you find their sand mounds drops them pretty quick.I don't believe the stuff has lasting power, so it's probably not much of a long term cure all for carpenter ants.

2. 
   Guest_ | Jan 29, 2000 02:58am | #5

   *........Diazanon knocks 'em down and keeps them away, mix up according to directions in a 2 gal pump sprayer and wet down the top of the foundation and squirt it up under the shingle / siding hang down...usually last about a month or more..long term I like Bora-care but don't know where to buy it..any one know?...it has an affinity for wood and moisture makes it MORE effective... makes a great treatment after framing and before the utilities / insulation gets installed...

3. 
   Guest_ | Jan 29, 2000 07:42am | #6

   *look at http://www.woodcaresystems.com

4. 
   Guest_ | Jan 29, 2000 12:00pm | #7

   *I found Victor "Roach Killing Powder" at HD. 100% boric acid. It mentions in smaller text that it works against ants, silverfish, etc. I think it damages the insect's exoskeletons when they pick it up.Ant baits --- hit or miss. the Combat ones have worked against some ants and not others -- i put a whole line of them along one of the nat highways, they have to find them easily. When they do work, it's like a neutron bomb.More dangerous pesticides ... well, read Silent Spring and then decide.

5. 
   Guest_ | Jan 29, 2000 01:31pm | #8

   *We have to deal with carpenter ants, fire ants, and a host of other nasty little biting ants.The only thing I have found that will absolutely wipe them out (not just make them move) is a product called "Amdro 24 Hour" ant bait. You sprinkle it on the mound, stir the little pecker heads up a bit, and in 24 hours, they're gone. No trace left whatsoever. I do not know if it will work in your area or not, but it does work here.Diazanon is ok, but here it doesn't seem to work very well. Rain has a lot to do with toical treatments. If your area gets a lot of rainfall, the topical treatments just wash away.Boric acid is the best roach killer I have seen to date. Roach Proof is a nationally known name brand of roach killer, and it is 100% Boric acid. You should be able to find it just about anywhere. I buy a 100% boric acid product at the local Dollar General Store. It is in a squeeze bottle simply labeled Boric Acid Roach Killer.Have fun...James DuHamel

6. 
   Guest_ | Jan 29, 2000 06:22pm | #9

   *....hey Piffen....thanks for the link...I never cease to be amazed at the kowledge that's out there...WOWb just one little frog but croaking together we make a mighty roar....Kermit

7. 
   Guest_ | Jan 29, 2000 06:52pm | #10

   *Andrew:Don't mean to get into an argument but this pesticide thing is one of the things that gets me going.With today's regulations for approving and applying pesticides, the risks are so small that they are almost nil. And IMHO, when compared to the good they do, they are well worth it.It used to be that every farm worker could feed approximately 3 persons. Now, every farm worker feeds about 27 people. That is because of hybrid and engineered higher yield crops, automation of planting and harvesting, the use of pesticides to protect crops, and the use of other chemicals to improve yields.You sir have made the choice for pesticides to be used everytime you pass over the lettuce with mold or pick through the apples looking for the best ones.If you like your bread to last more than a week, you'll appreciate the fungicides they put in most breads.Even "organically grown" foods can use chemicals, many are even grown hydroponically in a chemical bath. For some reason, growing lettuce with no soil in a solution of chemicals is seen as a more natural food.Pesticides, nuclear reactions, and firearms, the three elements of any great society.

8. 
   Guest_ | Jan 29, 2000 09:42pm | #11

   *Good housekeeping is must when building/remodeling .....No sense in providing food for carpenter ants/termites with sawdust, buried wood scraps etc. I used to sprinkle RoachPrufe in the bays before I insulated and put up drywall. Ditto previous comments about wood/moisture and carpenter ants. I've seen leaking and/or sweating plumbing and lack of overhang where rainwater splashes back onto the house cause moisture problems and then provide food for little unwanted critters.

9. 
   Guest_ | Jan 30, 2000 11:32am | #12

   *Actually, we are buying more and more organically grown foods as the prices become more reasonable, none hydroponic to my knowledge (not that it matters). I definitely want to know what the seller means by the term "organic" because its use is not yet regulated. I've learned that an orange doesn't need to be dyed orange to taste good, that my apples don't need to be waxed, etc. In fact most of the produce grown and treated for mass production puts more emphasis on appearance or profitability than quality. Red delicious apples? Beefsteak tomatoes? Yuck.We make our own bread. Bread keeps just fine in the fridge or freezer if need be, or most often we just eat it.I put little faith in government regulation to protect me and am surprised to hear that you do! In fact, gov't regulation of pesticide residues is surprisingly weak and monitoring pratically nil, especially of imported produce. The long-term effects of low-level exposure to pesticides are simply unknown. Kids are especially sensitive, and we don't want to be one of the families that finds out something was dangerous after the damage is done. Finally, homeowners apply pesticides and fertilizers in concentrations 20x or more than cost-conscious industry, killing beneficial insects and poisoning the water than flows over their land for trivialities like the perfect lawn. These pesticides are powerful neurotoxins that I don't even want stored or applied around my kids -- just read the labels. We use no herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers, and compost most of our leaves and some kitchen debris. This ends up being less work at less cost for me -- no bagging leaves or applying chemicals. People often ask why our lawn looks so good. I tell them i leave it alone. Dandelions don't frighten me, at least they're green. We use no insecticides more powerful than the boric acid and have almost no bugs (hygeine is the important thing, and tolerance or the occasional straying ant).Anyway, the ag industry is finding that more judicious application of chemicals -- integrated pest management -- saves them money.I'm not advocating any blind panic over the use of manmade substances ... I just figure, if you don't need it, don't use it ... and if it comes at a cost, balance that cost against the benefit rather than the manufacturer's hype."Pesticides, nuclear reactions, and firearms, the three elements of any great society." Um, you're kidding, right? How about 3 elements we hope future society won't have? These are things that industry or violence has convinced us we need, when really they would be nonexistent in a better society.Just for general info, here is an EPA document on food and pesticides, of course telling us what a great job they're doing: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/food/

10. 
    Guest_ | Jan 30, 2000 07:11pm | #13

    *Andrew:You and I disagree on this but I do respect that you don't just give it lip service, you actually have decided to live way you believe.The only corrections I would make are your statement about IPM. It doesn't work and probably won't. It can be done expensively in the greenhouse but on the large scale, it's just not possible.And, the idea that most ag products are made to look good. Most are made for processing.I also don't use pesticides on my lawn for the same reasons as you. Weeds are green."pesticides, firearms, and nuclear reactions" - maybe kidding alittle.Pesticides do keep me from going hungry.My guns are alot of fun to shoot and even put some food on the table.Nuclear power beats the heck out of carrying firewood.

11. 
    Guest_ | Jan 30, 2000 10:03pm | #14

    *Andrew - Like Ryan I respect your life style and my hat is off to you for incorporating your beliefs into your lifestyle.I have a question - and I think you may be a good one to ask it of. Here in the PacificNorthWest we are faced with the extinction of many species of salmon. The debate has raged as to "who" is responsible. My opinion is that all user s of the resource share responsibility - some more than others. The groups responsible are fishermen (recreational and commercial), logging companies, and the BPA (Bonneville Power Administration). The fishermen's role is obvious in the declining numbers of salmon. The logger's role is in poor logging practices - they log too close to spawning grounds causing muddy runoff to silt in the gravel beds the salmon require for spawning. The BPA's role is in having created 16 dams the salmon cannot manage. Instead of rushing clear cold water the salmon are faced with 80 mile long lakes of muddy warm water filled with predators. The juveniles (when the are any) are flushed through turbines and minced in their migration downstream - and that is only if they have been able to traverse the long predator filled lake behind the dam - and there are sixteen of these.So - anyway - the BPA is feeling the HEAT right now. Fishermen aren't fishing, loggers aren't logging and still the salmon decline. My opinion has always been the dams were the largest single factor in the salmon's demise. The problem? Well - there is extensive pressure on the BPA for the removal of these dams - and it looks to me like at least four on the upper Snake River will be the first. All these dams provide power for the West. Nuclear energy is going to fill the gap.Any suggestions Andrew?

12. 
    Guest_ | Jan 30, 2000 10:09pm | #15

    *Here in Mass. we have hungry carpenter ants who hide out in new and old wood and foam or fiberglass insulation. I'll not be surprised to see them inside PT wood soon. I have had success in using "Diazanon" which uses Boric Acid powder as its vehicle. The pesticide and powder stick to the exoskeleton and is brought back to the nest. There are also diatomes which are craggy microorganism's skeletons [the same stuff used in swimming pool filters ] which get caught in the ants body and are hard for them to shake off.I have seen people spreading a pile of Boric Acid along the sills to interfere with the ants passage to and from their nests which can be in the ground either inside or outside the foundation of the house.Of course these little buggers are a reason to show up on the job in some cases and we should show them some respect after we try to kill them all. It is a strange relationship I admit.Solve the water infiltration problem as best you can. Then spread some powder around and close the place up again. I have found that using the powder is less toxic to me than the sprays which require I leave the area until the smell subsides. The powder is compatable with continuing work.

13. 
    Guest_ | Jan 31, 2000 01:20pm | #16

    *Not arguing, just yakking ... I don't want to sound like one of those holier-than-thou granola-heads. My point is that there a lot of fairly easy things we all can do. The chemical industry really has the upper hand at the moment. Note that even though boric acid is quite effective it's hard to find and not well-known -- what pesticide company is going to push such a boring, inexpensive product?That "most of the produce grown and treated for mass production puts more emphasis on appearance or profitability than quality" addressed what you mean -- yeah, most of the stuff goes into cans or purees or animal food. They're designing the food to survivie frost or rough handling or whatever, even putting pig genes in tomatoes now. I'm trying to get better about that "5 servings a day" thing, and now that I have little boys it seems more urgent for us all.Did you hear that gov't finally acknowledged that all those nuclear bomb workers really were exposed to dangerous substances and radiation? But ... they said it was perfectly safe... Kind of like those nitwit experiments in the 50's where they had infantry observe nuclear blasts and then advance on the bomb site.

14. 
    Guest_ | Feb 04, 2000 11:25pm | #17

    *Mike, PRG's home page, http://www.PRGinc.com/ Go to products, Borates, Then BORA-CARE. Bill

15. 
    RussR_ | Feb 07, 2000 05:47pm | #19

    *Boracare is made by NISUS Corporation, 101 Concord St. NKnoxville, TN 37919. There is a toll-free number to callfor more information: 1-800-264-0870. They also make a granular product boric acid bait called NiBAN.