I have read all the postings about carpenter ants and have done
research on WWW, but I'm at a loss. For two years in a row I've had
dozens of winged carpenter ants in my living room and kitchen. I am
certain they are ants and not termites. Everything I read says I have
to follow them back to the nest so I can kill them. But these winged
ants don't go back to the nest !! They don't go anywhere but wander
around my living room. I followed one for two hours one night and
finally gave up and killed him. I have put out the Advance and
MaxForce bait, but never see these winged ants eating anything. I have
watched in my living room for hours and can't spot where they are
coming from. It's like they appear out of a black hole. I know my
eyes are not the best (I'm 57 years old), but for two years I've never
seen one actually crawling out from somewhere. And I very rarely see
regular worker ants in my house -- the kind without wings -- just two
or three in the past month. How in the world can I find the nest? I
am ready to just give up and sell my house (not really, but I have that
fantasy). And I'm sick of getting up at 2am to look around with a
flashlight. These winged ants prefer 7pm to appear.
I have a Carpenter Ant contract with Chemtec, but they are useless.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or MORAL SUPPORT.
Manny

"I have a Carpenter Ant contract with Chemtec, but they are useless.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or MORAL SUPPORT.
Manny "


I'd be calling them constantly till they get rid of them. That's what
you're paying for. And if they can't, then fire them and get another
company that knows what they are doing.

In article . com,
says...
I have read all the postings about carpenter ants and have done
research on WWW, but I'm at a loss. For two years in a row I've had
dozens of winged carpenter ants in my living room and kitchen. I am
certain they are ants and not termites. Everything I read says I have
to follow them back to the nest so I can kill them. But these winged
ants don't go back to the nest !! They don't go anywhere but wander
around my living room. I followed one for two hours one night and
finally gave up and killed him. I have put out the Advance and
MaxForce bait, but never see these winged ants eating anything. I have
watched in my living room for hours and can't spot where they are
coming from. It's like they appear out of a black hole. I know my
eyes are not the best (I'm 57 years old), but for two years I've never
seen one actually crawling out from somewhere. And I very rarely see
regular worker ants in my house -- the kind without wings -- just two
or three in the past month. How in the world can I find the nest? I
am ready to just give up and sell my house (not really, but I have that
fantasy). And I'm sick of getting up at 2am to look around with a
flashlight. These winged ants prefer 7pm to appear.
I have a Carpenter Ant contract with Chemtec, but they are useless.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or MORAL SUPPORT.
Manny


Make sure they are carpenter ants. Just because what your company said
they were to make a sell doesn't mean they are. All ants will have a
winged class. If your company is hired to get rid if the carpenter ants,
insist on them finding the indoor nest. They can apply a product called
Phantom indoors that works great on ants. When they treat the perimeter
and areas they forage outside with Termidor you will not just get rid of
the carp ant nest but keep all species of ants from finding their way in
for about a year.
--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

wrote in message

I followed one for two hours one night and
finally gave up and killed him.


Once they realize they are being tailed, they are given strict orders NOT to
return to base. You will need to be more discreet.

wrote:
I have read all the postings about carpenter ants and have done
research on WWW, but I'm at a loss. For two years in a row I've had
dozens of winged carpenter ants in my living room and kitchen. I am
certain they are ants and not termites. Everything I read says I have
to follow them back to the nest so I can kill them. But these winged
ants don't go back to the nest !! They don't go anywhere but wander
around my living room. I followed one for two hours one night and
finally gave up and killed him. I have put out the Advance and
MaxForce bait, but never see these winged ants eating anything. I have
watched in my living room for hours and can't spot where they are
coming from. It's like they appear out of a black hole. I know my
eyes are not the best (I'm 57 years old), but for two years I've never
seen one actually crawling out from somewhere. And I very rarely see
regular worker ants in my house -- the kind without wings -- just two
or three in the past month. How in the world can I find the nest? I
am ready to just give up and sell my house (not really, but I have that
fantasy). And I'm sick of getting up at 2am to look around with a
flashlight. These winged ants prefer 7pm to appear.
I have a Carpenter Ant contract with Chemtec, but they are useless.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or MORAL SUPPORT.
Manny



IIRC winged ants are out for mating. I don't think they will return to
the next. Follow a non-winged version.

--
Respectfully,


CL Gilbert

wrote:

I have read all the postings about carpenter ants and have done
research on WWW, but I'm at a loss. For two years in a row I've had
dozens of winged carpenter ants in my living room and kitchen. I am
certain they are ants and not termites.

What makes you certain of this? I'd suspect termites
first...(speaking from sad experience).

...Everything I read says I have
to follow them back to the nest so I can kill them. But these winged
ants don't go back to the nest !!

No, they're swarming, ready to form new colonies...they're leaving the
existing nest and like the polyp commercial says, they're looking for a
new home....and it's going to be somewhere else in yours, no doubt.

...I have put out the Advance and
MaxForce bait, but never see these winged ants eating anything.

No, while they're swarming, that's all they're doing...

....
I have a Carpenter Ant contract with Chemtec, but they are useless.

What about a termite clause as well?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or MORAL SUPPORT.

If this bunch of exterminators is incompetent, get rid of them and get
somebody who is. If you've swarms of such magnitude for two years
running, the amount of damage they've caused is probably quite
considerable already. As for selling, there's no doubt in my mind you'd
have to pay the remedial cost on closing or have to have it fixed before
you'll ever get it sold anyway.

I'd be getting an independent verification and some serious complaints
to the current outfit. I'd even go so far as to open up some wall areas
where there are suspicious chances of moisture, etc., to evaluate the
damage.

Whatever you do, do not ignore it. It's likely you have some major
damage already.

Well,
Thanks for all the information. This is very discouraging. I have an
exterminator coming on Thursday. If I have a nest in my house, which
sounds VERY certain, why don't I see the "regular" ants? The ones
without wings that eat and go looking for food? I have bait all over
the place but never see any except the winged ants. Where are the
regular ants going? Why don't they come inside where I can feed them
the poison?
Thanks,
Manny

Manny wrote:
Well,
Thanks for all the information. This is very discouraging. I have an
exterminator coming on Thursday. If I have a nest in my house, which
sounds VERY certain, why don't I see the "regular" ants? The ones
without wings that eat and go looking for food? I have bait all over
the place but never see any except the winged ants. Where are the
regular ants going? Why don't they come inside where I can feed them
the poison?
Thanks,
Manny


Lol. They are smart? Seriously though, do you have any trees
overhanging your roof? And tree stumps close to your house? I would
look for an external nest very near the house, or a nest in an open area
of your roof or foundation. perhaps they dont normally come inside
because its a long way to walk, but a short way to fly?

--
Respectfully,


CL Gilbert

Manny wrote:

Well,
Thanks for all the information. This is very discouraging. I have an
exterminator coming on Thursday. If I have a nest in my house, which
sounds VERY certain, why don't I see the "regular" ants? The ones
without wings that eat and go looking for food? I have bait all over
the place but never see any except the winged ants. Where are the
regular ants going? Why don't they come inside where I can feed them
the poison?
Thanks,
Manny

Primarily because I doubt seriously you have ants but have termites.

wrote:
I have read all the postings about carpenter ants and have done
research on WWW, but I'm at a loss. For two years in a row I've had
dozens of winged carpenter ants in my living room and kitchen. I am
certain they are ants and not termites. Everything I read says I have
to follow them back to the nest so I can kill them. But these winged
ants don't go back to the nest !! They don't go anywhere but wander
around my living room. I followed one for two hours one night and
finally gave up and killed him. I have put out the Advance and
MaxForce bait, but never see these winged ants eating anything. I have
watched in my living room for hours and can't spot where they are
coming from. It's like they appear out of a black hole. I know my
eyes are not the best (I'm 57 years old), but for two years I've never
seen one actually crawling out from somewhere. And I very rarely see
regular worker ants in my house -- the kind without wings -- just two
or three in the past month. How in the world can I find the nest? I
am ready to just give up and sell my house (not really, but I have that
fantasy). And I'm sick of getting up at 2am to look around with a
flashlight. These winged ants prefer 7pm to appear.
I have a Carpenter Ant contract with Chemtec, but they are useless.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or MORAL SUPPORT.
Manny


Termites "swarm" at a certain time of year, so I assume all ants do too.
When termites swarm, they are not foraging for food - they are looking
for mates to set up a new nest.

IF they are carpenter ants, they are not difficult to locate outdoors.
They forage in the evening and follow paths to and from the nest. Most
often nest in dead or rotting wood, such as damaged wood structure, dead
tree or hedge limbs. Cleaning up dead branches and rotted wood around
our condo got rid of them without using poison. Prior to that, some
neighbors dumped bag after bag of poison around the property with no
impact at all. Our carpenter ants were in damaged wood partition,
rotted wood fence, and dead limbs in hedges which they hollowed out very
effectively without killing living branches. Termites can gain entry
through very fine cracks and crevices, such as uncaulked gaps around
windows, plumbing entry, etc.

"CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert" wrote in message
...
Manny wrote:
Well,
Thanks for all the information. This is very discouraging. I have an
exterminator coming on Thursday. If I have a nest in my house, which
sounds VERY certain, why don't I see the "regular" ants? The ones
without wings that eat and go looking for food? I have bait all over
the place but never see any except the winged ants. Where are the
regular ants going? Why don't they come inside where I can feed them
the poison?
Thanks,
Manny


Lol. They are smart? Seriously though, do you have any trees
overhanging your roof? And tree stumps close to your house? I would
look for an external nest very near the house, or a nest in an open area
of your roof or foundation. perhaps they dont normally come inside
because its a long way to walk, but a short way to fly?


i don't know anything about carpenter ants, but common sense tells me that
they must be in the house somewhere. why would outside ants make a point of
doing an ant swarm inside if they have access to the outside? they'd just
do their flyaway thing outside.

These are definitely carpenter ants. They have been identified by the
exterminator and by pictures on the internet. But reading these
replies, I realize that I have bushes that are right up against my
house, as well as a tree that overhangs directly over my chimney and my
attic. Maybe the flying guys are getting sucked into my fireplace or
vents? Unfortunately it's not my tree, but my neighbors, so I'd have
to negotiate cutting off the branches.
Anyway, thanks everyone for the help. Maybe when the exterminator
comes tomorrow, he'll really be able to do something. I still have not
seen any of the regular ants, just the winged ones, and they all seem
half dead.
I swear I'm moving to Siberia. I bet there are no carpenter ants
there.

Manny wrote:
These are definitely carpenter ants. They have been identified by the
exterminator and by pictures on the internet. But reading these
replies, I realize that I have bushes that are right up against my
house, as well as a tree that overhangs directly over my chimney and my
attic. Maybe the flying guys are getting sucked into my fireplace or
vents? Unfortunately it's not my tree, but my neighbors, so I'd have
to negotiate cutting off the branches.
Anyway, thanks everyone for the help. Maybe when the exterminator
comes tomorrow, he'll really be able to do something. I still have not
seen any of the regular ants, just the winged ones, and they all seem
half dead.
I swear I'm moving to Siberia. I bet there are no carpenter ants
there.



That sounds about right. These ants sometimes nest at the roots of
trees. And they walk in from the branches. Then they end up starting a
nest right there just inside your house.

They don't desire to be inside or outside, they just go everywhere, so
their is no logic to why they would fly inside and die rather than fly
outside and find a new nesting place.

You do not have to negotiate with your neighbor about tree branches
overhanging your property, especially overhanging your house. But it
may be polite. If you get lots of leaves in your gutter, you may have
water damage along the gutter line. Thats a place to look for ants.

Anyway, just cut the branches and investigate the bushes.


P.S. We had the same problem in my last house. We never actually found
the ants nest but we assumed they were getting in through an addition
which had a somewhat rotted facia and also it had wood siding. We
trimmed all overhanging trees, nailed and sealed up the facia. Put
boric acid down in perimeter of addition. And then we moved(not because
of ants).

--
Respectfully,


CL Gilbert

In article .com,
says...

These are definitely carpenter ants. They have been identified by the
exterminator and by pictures on the internet. But reading these
replies, I realize that I have bushes that are right up against my
house, as well as a tree that overhangs directly over my chimney and my
attic. .......
........ Maybe when the exterminator
comes tomorrow, he'll really be able to do something. I still have not
seen any of the regular ants, just the winged ones, and they all seem
half dead.
I swear I'm moving to Siberia. I bet there are no carpenter ants
there.

These pics might be what you are dealing with....
http://arrow-pestcontrol.com/yngca_1.jpg
http://arrow-pestcontrol.com/yngca_2.jpg
http://arrow-pestcontrol.com/yngca_3.jpg

85% of all carpenter ant work I do has nothing to do with wood at
all...just a hollow area for them to nest. In the first pic the shrub
has attracted them and they have gained access into the home...the
second pic is where the gained access inside and the third pic is where
they were nesting, a plastic hollow area in some window blinds. The
customer had no idea there were ants in the home. Never saw a forager
one, but when this nest would of swarmed they would of seen plenty of
winged ones as you are now.

--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

On Wed, 08 Jun 2005 09:19:43 -0400, Mark wrote:

On Wed, 08 Jun 2005 09:00:06 -0400, "CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert"
wrote:


You do not have to negotiate with your neighbor about tree branches
overhanging your property, especially overhanging your house.

Oh, how wrong you are. You cannot simply take the saw to his tree for
branches over your house. Well, you can, but it will cost you far more
than an exterminator.

I would imagine that depends on where you live. In Florida you can
cut anything that grows over your property line.

Steve B.

Manny wrote:
These are definitely carpenter ants. They have been identified by the
exterminator and by pictures on the internet. But reading these
replies, I realize that I have bushes that are right up against my
house, as well as a tree that overhangs directly over my chimney and my
attic. Maybe the flying guys are getting sucked into my fireplace or
vents? Unfortunately it's not my tree, but my neighbors, so I'd have
to negotiate cutting off the branches.
Anyway, thanks everyone for the help. Maybe when the exterminator
comes tomorrow, he'll really be able to do something. I still have not
seen any of the regular ants, just the winged ones, and they all seem
half dead.
I swear I'm moving to Siberia. I bet there are no carpenter ants
there.


Check your local code - limbs over your property should be yours to
trim, taking into account you cannot (probably) mutilate the tree. I
forgot to mention attic spaces as a place for carpenter ants to nest.
The much prefer damp/rotted wood, and a leaky roof will attract them.
Find them, and don't worry about extermination until you make sure you
don't have structural wood that needs repair.

If they are carpenter ants, you should be able to locate them when they
are foraging without much difficulty. If you can't locate foraging ants
either in the attic space, inside or around the house, overhanging tree,
then make darn sure you don't have swarming termites. Termites do not
like daylight, so they don't go crawling about. Carpenter ants, even in
the tree, should be easy to see as they go looking for food. If they
are in a tree limb, then they are either coming into the house for food
or going up and down the tree trunk. They are big, and move about in
evening more; not difficult to track. Got a fruit tree where they could
feed without going anywhere else????

In article , Steve B. says...

On Wed, 08 Jun 2005 09:19:43 -0400, Mark wrote:

On Wed, 08 Jun 2005 09:00:06 -0400, "CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert"
wrote:


You do not have to negotiate with your neighbor about tree branches
overhanging your property, especially overhanging your house.

Oh, how wrong you are. You cannot simply take the saw to his tree for
branches over your house. Well, you can, but it will cost you far more
than an exterminator.

I would imagine that depends on where you live. In Florida you can
cut anything that grows over your property line.

Well, there's the legal, then there's the neighborhood peace part of this.

Presuably you're only addressing the former.

Banty

Lar,
You're obviously very good at what you do. too bad you're in Texas and
I'm in NJ, or I would hire you! How in the world do you find ants if
they don't forage inside? There are so many places where they might
be, it would take me years to check out everywhere. Does bait work?
Advance and MaxForce?

It seems the swarming is over. I didn't see any yesterday. The
exterminator comes today. Let's see if he can find the nest.

Thanks for the help,
Manny

Lar wrote:
These pics might be what you are dealing with....
http://arrow-pestcontrol.com/yngca_1.jpg
http://arrow-pestcontrol.com/yngca_2.jpg
http://arrow-pestcontrol.com/yngca_3.jpg

85% of all carpenter ant work I do has nothing to do with wood at
all...just a hollow area for them to nest. In the first pic the shrub
has attracted them and they have gained access into the home...the
second pic is where the gained access inside and the third pic is where
they were nesting, a plastic hollow area in some window blinds. The
customer had no idea there were ants in the home. Never saw a forager
one, but when this nest would of swarmed they would of seen plenty of
winged ones as you are now.

--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

clipped

85% of all carpenter ant work I do has nothing to do with wood at
all...just a hollow area for them to nest. In the first pic the shrub

If folks want to pay someone to spray poison on ants, you will probably
oblige them since that is what you do for a living.

has attracted them and they have gained access into the home...the
second pic is where the gained access inside and the third pic is where
they were nesting, a plastic hollow area in some window blinds. The
customer had no idea there were ants in the home. Never saw a forager

What did they eat - pizza delivered?

one, but when this nest would of swarmed they would of seen plenty of
winged ones as you are now.


Ants that don't leave the nest to eat? That's a new one. If I had any
bug in the house, I would attempt to eliminate it's entry point and it's
food. We get small ants once in a while, usually when we leave sweets
on counter or don't wipe it clean often enough. Clean up. Bait. Done.

clipped

These pics might be what you are dealing with....
http://arrow-pestcontrol.com/yngca_1.jpg
http://arrow-pestcontrol.com/yngca_2.jpg
http://arrow-pestcontrol.com/yngca_3.jpg

85% of all carpenter ant work I do has nothing to do with wood at
all...just a hollow area for them to nest. In the first pic the shrub
has attracted them and they have gained access into the home...the

Healthy living shrubs don't attract carpenter ants where I live, unless
they are after berries in palms. Or damaged/dropped fruit on ground,
dead wood or the means to enter a structure for nest/food. Second pic
shows a window that needs caulk, not an ant problem. It could become
one, or a termite problem.

second pic is where the gained access inside and the third pic is where
they were nesting, a plastic hollow area in some window blinds. The
customer had no idea there were ants in the home. Never saw a forager
one, but when this nest would of swarmed they would of seen plenty of
winged ones as you are now.

Don't know if it was this topic or another similar but we had a problem
with walking carpenter ants at our kitchen sink and in an area off the
back porch.

Someone wrote about Combat Ant gel at Home Depot (and I suppose others
also). I bought it Monday. Yesterday I saw a few carpenter ants on their
backs dying. I can only imagine (with some glee) that the same fate
affected the nest. Don't see any living ants now at all.

To whomever passed on the recommendation....Thanks.

Gary