This summer I started noticing carpenter ants around my shop building. I've been looking at some bait options. Anybody have experiences with this stuff?

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2021 10:43AM by lost in space.

Fire.

Otherwise, I would call in a professional exterminator as soon as possible. Carpenter ants are difficult to eradicate.

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“Live your life, love your life, don’t regret…live, learn and move forward positively.” – CR Johnson
Loving life in Lake Tahoe, CA

.....the uncle might do the trick but usually.....the ant is dominant.....

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

My only experience is with the tiny black ants, that were frequently coming out of the walls of my home. I was using the Terro Ant Traps. They worked but it would take a few days before they would be gone.

I tried Amdro Ant Block about 6 months ago and haven't seen any ants in my house since. You sprinkle it around the exterior foundation. I'd recommend taping up some of the holes in the lid - it's easy to sprinkle the whole container if you're not careful. I don't think it takes much.

From the Amdro link: Kills fire ants, carpenter ants and 23 other ant species

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Northern California Coast

There is a liquid borax-based poison that works quite well. The ants take it back to the nest and that’s the end of that.

Powdered boric acid, with powdered sugar... cheaper than Terro.

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
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Eureka, CA

I second Amdro. I have used it in the past with success. Not with carpenter ants, but with ants in general.

Thanks for the replies. Our carpenter ants are mostly outside, especially in our hummer feeders. I've found a few in my shop, which is worrisome because I have a lot of wood in there, some of it costly. Found a weird thing the other day--there were a couple dozen dead ones on the steps leading up to the attic storage in the shop, just below the attic hatch. Health issues keep me from going up there, but maybe I'll sweet talk my wife into checking it out.

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Either you have ant poison in the shop and they’re getting to it, or you have found the ant graveyard. Ants that die in the nest are taken out and (usually) deposited in the same area.

^^^^ This is the worry. We lived in a rental house that was built in the late 1800's as a brothel. When we found dead ones lying around, it was always a sign that something above was infested. It turned out that some interior beams were infested. Some nut job in the late 50's decided to encase the beams in 1x6 pine to hide the damage. The chew fest inside continued...

When a contractor came in and pulled off that sheathing, it was the stuff of nightmares. Fortunately, we bought property and were able to secure a new temporary rental a month later.

FYI...this was not in our current location, farther down the hill where carpenter ants are much more prevalent. These days, any carpenter ant i see is a dead ant.

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“Live your life, love your life, don’t regret…live, learn and move forward positively.” – CR Johnson
Loving life in Lake Tahoe, CA

I second the suggestion for a professional exterminator. It took our guy 3 years to completely discourage them.

Quote
lost in space
This summer I started noticing carpenter ants around my shop building. I've been looking at some bait options. Anybody have experiences with this stuff?

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Ed (modelamac)

Trying to figure out some people is like trying to smell the number 9.

Terro has a specific carpenter ant mix.
We've not used it.
But we have used the regular stuff for teeny tiny and other black ants.
Works way better than DIY borax and sugar.
Way better.
I believe that Terro adds some kind of pheromone.

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"one door closes and another window opens"
Vlad the Impailer.

"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion."
Alexander the Great

.....don't kill Ant.....Harriet.....she is my fave.......

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

nor Ant Ediluvian
nor Ant Alusian

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"one door closes and another window opens"
Vlad the Impailer.

"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion."
Alexander the Great

Auntie matters.