Todd H. wrote:
blueman writes:

We seem (like many in our neighborhood) to have a nagging number of
Carpenter ants around our New England house.

We bought Home Depot's "best" which supposedly "kills on contact",
however, the ants seemed to just swim through the stuff.

What are your recommendations for the most effective *consumer* spray
that effectively can be used against Carpenter ants? (both inside and
outside).

My perhaps faulty assumption is that anything sold nowadays to
consumers will be reasonably safe.


The trouble with this, and the lawn care industry it seems is that
they don't seem to let us consumers buy the crap that actually works
best.

Trouble is, if a little is good, more must be better. People are stupid
about insecticides. Call an exterminator instead of cleaning up the
stuff that attracts bugs.


Maybe I'm a leming, but after trying some consumer baits and such to
no avail, I called Terminix when I had a black ant problem, and I
haven't seen those arthopod sons-a-bitches since. The first year is
somewhat pricey, but you can negotiate witht he local provider after
that and get a substantial discount.

I used bait and cleaned my kitchen. Worked. Only ant infestations I've
ever had were in spring (north and in FL) and had foodstuffs attracting
them - crumbs around dog food dish, sweet spills on counter, etc. In
extreme weather, they may come indoors seeking water or escaping
excessive rainfall.


I'm not trying to steer you that way, but I wanted to share my
disappointment with a variety of consumer level stuff in trying to
deal with my own ant problem. Doesn't cost much to try that stuff
though, so have at it!

I guess the gov't is trying to keep us not only from killing ourselves
but mutating future generations. I forget the percentage of people who
have insecticides in measurable amounts in their bodies, but it is far
more than half.

My neighbor in the condo dumped at least four bags of Dursban around the
yard to kill carpenter ants. Tried to crush them to death, I guess.
What got rid of them, with no more poison, was to clear out and repair
dead or damaged wood. They were very numerous before, none now. Also
caulked big gaps in out walls around water pipes, etc.

If you were hunting deer, rabbits or lions, you would find out where
they go to eat. Some folks use attractants - same works for bugs.
Carpenter ants forage in the evening and are very easy to trace to their
nest. Sorry to go on so long, but I really don't want the grandkids
poisoned. Their world will be tough enough.


Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/