I can hear what sounds like a chewing sound in one of my wall voids. At first I thought it was a mouse or rat but the sound seems to stay in the same area all the time. When I go outside and look around the only thing I see are large black ants going up under the siding. Could they be doing something in there I might be hearing?
The ant you're describing is probably a carpenter ant. These are large, black ants that nest in wood. They have strong chewing mouth parts and will readily gnaw through wood. This gnawing can get quite loud and I'm pretty sure it's what you're hearing.
Since carpenter ants can cause a lot of damage, I suggest you either treat the home as described in our Carpenter Ant article or get a service company to do the treatment for you. The gnawing is usually the sound of a new infestation and though it will probably subside in a few weeks, the ants will still be present which will only lead to further problems.
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I've had large black boring ants that seem to be drilling holes in my cedar siding. I watch them go into several different cracks between the siding shakes and all day long you can see little wood shavings fall out if you watch long enough. They must be boring in the wood and I'm afraid they're causing damage. What can I treat with here?
The best product for treating boring ants in wood siding is the Drione Dust. Use a Hand Duster to apply it and you'll get a quick kill because the dust penetrates like no liquid can. Boring ants will move up into siding because it provides an excellent location for them to build a nest as our on line Boring Ant Article explains. This video shows boring ants in siding being treated so you can understand why Drione is ideal for ant problems located in the siding of a home.
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I've been seeing a lot of wood ants around my firewood pile. I see saw dust like something is grinding up the wood and I'm pretty sure it's the wood ants. Is there anything I can spray on the wood that won't be toxic to burn?
Wood ants, also known as carpenter ants, like to nest in wood as explained in our carpenter ant article. They don't eat the wood but rather bore through it creating voids in which they nest. Firewood piles are common places for such activity and will almost always attract wood ants if left untreated.
First, locate the wood pile as far away from your home as you can. This will help to decrease the likelihood that they'll create a nest on the house. Next, treat the wood with Diatomaceous Earth using a Hand Duster. This will both kill them on contact and keep them away. Apply as needed throughout the season. This should keep them controlled but if you find the dust isn't working well enough, get some of the Termidor and spray it around the base of the pile. This way any ants coming to or leaving the wood pile will be affected and this will keep the area wood ant nest free.
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We have a carpenter ant infestation in the wall of our garage. I can see the ants coming in and out every evening. I also have a dog and cat that play right alongside this garage so I'm reluctant to spray. Do you have anything non toxic to them I can use?
Since you know where the nest is located, you should consider using the Drione dust featured in our Carpenter Ant article. This dust acts like a dessicant and is both fast working and extremely effective on carpenter ants. If you don't want to use this product, you can switch out to Diatomaceous Earth. It too will act as a desiccant and as an organic material is about as safe of a product that can be used.
Around the home and garage you should apply some Suspend or Cypermethrin to insure any stragglers don't relocate and start a new nest. The organic equivalent would the ECO IC Concencentrate. Using all natural ingredients, this product won't last long like the other concentrates but it will offer a residual that should last 1-4 weeks. Most importantly for you, it will be completely safe to use around the pets and family members. All our organic products can be seen at Non Toxic Pest Control.
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For the last year I've been finding dead carpenter ants around my house. There seems to be two locations. One is on my kitchen coutertops and the other is in my bathroom. We don't see live ones – just dead ones. What's going on? I've never had any kind of ant problem before but I'm finding 5-10 a week and it's disturbing but I don't know what to do. I suspect there must be a nest some place but maybe not. Any ideas?
Carpenter ants are unique in that they will actually spend time removing dead ants from their colony. It could be you are finding dead ants that have been removed from a local nest. The key for you will be determining where the nest is located. It sounds like you are unsure at this time and as our Carpenter Ant article explains, many times it is hard to discover these locations. Remember, ants don't want you to know where they live. But unless you are able to either spray or bait where they are active, it's not likely you'll be able to resolve this problem any time soon.
That being said, I'm pretty sure there is a nest either in or on your home. I would be surprised if they are located far away; it's most likely they are very close based on the numbers you report. I'm thinking in the ceiling void, maybe behind some crown molding or in some air vents, since you're finding these ants out in the open. This is usually a sign of ants being "pushed" out of some small hole up high. Since homes can have nests which don't have ants visually seen all the time, this scenario is fairly common and happens all the time.
At this point the Carpenter Ant Gel might be your best option but you do need to locate the placement to where you have seen activity. From your message, I don't think you know of any activity so this might be hard for you to do. Remember, carpenter ants are nocturnal by nature so they could be out and about in the dark thus avoiding being seen. I suggest you place some of the Ant Gel where you're seeing the dead ones for starters. You are also welcome to give our office a call at 1.800.877.7290. One of our technical reps might be able to ascertain a better remedy after being able to discuss the matter on the phone.
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I've seen a carpenter ant or two in my kitchen this past month and I'm thinking I might have a problem. Last year we only saw a few each month but now it's as many as a few each day. I have no idea where they're coming from or where the nest might be located. How should I treat this problem?
Knowing where the carpenter ant nest is located usually helps a lot when treating a local carpenter ant infestation. At this point I can't say that you have a nest inside the home or not. But if you are seeing as many as you state, chances are high that you do have a nest on the premises. I suggest two things.
First, apply some of the Carpenter Ant Gel we have listed in our Carpenter Ant article. Any ants foraging into the home will surely find the offering, feed and die. If some make it back to the nest, you'll probably kill the nest too. This would be ideal.
Second, to make sure you don't keep getting new ants foraging on the home, apply some Suspend to the outside perimeter of the building. Apply the product with a good Pump Sprayer to insure you get a barrier in place to stop foraging ants. Use this material every 2-3 months during the spring, summer and fall and you should be able to keep the ants outside and out of your house.
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I've been seeing large black carpenter ants in my garage. It's a free standing garage and has open walls inside so there isn't any place to hide. But I'm not seeing on those walls. Instead I'm seeing them climbing on the outside roofline and on the gutters. I think they might be nesting under the roofing. What would be the best product if they're up under the rooffing?
Carpenter ants like to live in any protected space they can find. Roofing shingles offer a great place for them to nest. Typically moist with a lot of seams and cracks, they'll easily get up under the shingles and from there can find spaces where they'll create thriving nests.
The best product to use for this area is the Drione Dust. It will penetrate and reach all the voids up under the roofing when applied with a Duster. Liquid sprays won't be too effective since they're readily absorbed by the asphalt shingles and since this area is typically out in the open, the sunlight will quickly break the chemical down. Treat with the Drione as explained in our article about Carpenter Ant Control and you'll be able to kill the nest immediately.
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I've been seeing large black ants going up a tree in my yard and I'm pretty sure they're carpenter ants. I can't see where they might be nesting because the tree is a huge oak. I don't want them killing the tree but I don't want to hurt the tree treating it. What can I use that's both safe and effective?
Carpenter ants will readily forage up a tree for food. Some of these trees will many times be prime locations for a nest. There is no doubt that over time an active carpenter ant nest will kill a tree faster than normal. To stop this from happening, there are two ways you can treat that are easy.
The simplest approach is to get some Carpenter Ant Gel and apply it to the trunk where they are traveling. Carpenter Ants will find it as they ascend the tree, feed and share it with their nest. This will ultimately kill all the ants. The second option is to treat the tree with some Termidor. Spray the trunk down so that any ants walking up the tree will have to cross the treated surface. This will shut the nest down as explained in our Carpenter Ant Control article.
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For the last few years I've been seeing carpenter ants in my house each spring. It seems like there are a lot early in April or May but then I don't see them till the next spring. I think there is a nest somewhere but I have no idea where that might be. Is there anything I should do?
Base don the fact that you've seen them each year for several years, I'm pretty sure there is either a nest in or on your house. Since carpenter ants can cause a lot of damage, it would be wise to attempt to do something before the situation gets worse. The first thing you should do is try to locate where the nest is. We have a great video in our Carpenter Ants in House article which highlights how you can find the nest.
Additionally, you should place out some Carpenter Ant Gel when they get active. Since most ants coming out of winter hibernation are seeking food, this gel will be found quickly and should kill off some of the developing nests even though you won't know where they are located. This is one of the big advantages of the product and why it's both easy to use and effective.
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I'm wondering if the Maxforce carpenter ant gel will work for my problem. I'm seeing ants going up a tree but I don't know where the nest is located. Can I apply the gel to the tree trunk, close to the ground, and expect that ants feeding on it will bring it back to the tree and it will kill the nest? I don't want to loose this tree and there are a lot of ants in it.
This could work. I've used this technique in the past and it has done the job. Just be sure to "refresh" the Carpenter Ant Gel every couple of days. I've noted the gel will dry up much faster than normal when applied to a tree trunk so it won't be as readily available as it is when controlled out of the elements.
Alternatively, you could opt to apply some Optigard to the tree trunk. This will prove to be very effective since the ants will have no choice but to walk over the treated surfaces if the nest in the tree is to survive. This could prove to be the most effective approach in terms of timliness and effectiveness.
Filed under carpenterant by
I've been seeing large black ants with wings around my bedroom window. I didn't see them last year but I did notice some big black ants walking outside the house on the wall just below that same window. Now I'm thinking these are related. Do I have some kind of ant problem?
You're describing carpenter ants and I'm pretty sure the ones with wings are what we refer to as carpenter ant swarmers. These are special ants also known as reproductives which colonies send out every spring and fall to start new colonies. Since they will only emerge from established nests, it's reasonable to assume you had an active nest last year which is now releasing these ants to go and start new colonies somewhere else. Because the nest is on the home, some are finding their way inside instead of outside where they really want to be. Since carpenter ants can cause a lot of damage to wood, you'll need to treat the nest as described in our CARPENTER ANT CONTROL ARTICLE.
Since you're finding them close to the window, one would naturally think the nest is somewhere in the vicinity. In fact this is a common location for carpenter ant nests to exist. But to be sure you need to follow the directions we outline in our article on how to track ant trails and locate where they live. As you'll learn, most any carpenter ant problem will involve multiple nests and if you wish to get rid of them you'll need to get all satellite nests. Hopefully you'll be able to locate the nests and if you can, treating them with DRIONE will provide the quickest control. If you're not able to locate nests and are at a loss for where they are living but see active worker ants, a thorough TERMIDOR application could resolve the problem. If all else fails, call a service company to do the treatment. Carpenter ants can cause a lot of damage and any activity on or around a structure is a sure sign of a nest close by. Letting it survive for any length of time could result in costly damage and therefore a thorough treatment of the area should be done to insure this isn't the case.
Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:
Carpenter Ant Control Article: http://www.carpenterants.com/carpenter-ant-control
Drione Dust: http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page91.html
Filed under large black ants, wings by
We want to order the most effective carpenter ant bait since we cannot find the nest but have large black ants in kitchen. However, we are concerned about our two siamese house cats. Will they be attracted to it as well and is it lethal to cats?
The use of baits for any insect is about the safest method one can use regarding house pets and other occupants. Basically these products only impact insects and when consumed by mammals are simply processed as food. Of course we don't recommend "feeding" these products to your pet – that would be unwise. But an accidental ingestion of a small amount normally used and applied would have no impact. Their digestive system is so strong the bait would be processed like food. And since the active is designed to work on insects and not mammals, it wouldn't be enough to have any impact. That being said, it would be wise to make placements where your cats don't go. This would not only insure they don't eat any but it would also allow the bait to do it's job and get the ants you're trying to control.
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Hello,
Starting last night I have noticed long red and black ants in my home, generally on the ceiling or on the walls, towards the center of my home. I suspect they are coming in through the attic, but I can't actually tell where they are. I generally spot 1-3 at a time, in different areas and moving in different directions. They seem to be foraging or wandering aimlessly.
Since the ants are already in my home and potentially nesting in my attic, what would be the most effective treatment? I was hoping there might be some foggers I could put in my attic to treat the wood. It is a crawl space and would be very difficult to spray. Alternatively, would it be better to try to place some baits up there or somehow mount them on the walls near where I have been seeing the ants? Thanks.
P.S. For what it's worth, I'm located in north-central Florida, so we have lots of fire ants. I am not sure if these are fire ants because I haven't given them the opportunity to attack.
Fireants are small and travel rapidly when active. They almost always nest in the ground and aren't commonly found where you say you're seeing them. I suspect you have Florida Carpenter Ants, which can be reddish/brown, large and are essentially carpenter ants in all other regards.
Since we're just coming out of winter, you most likely have a nest somewhere in or on the house and these you see now are the first sign of the nest coming out to start work now that spring is arriving. I would say the best thing you could do is identify where they are nesting. This would allow for a direct treatment. Forget using a "fogger"; they won't get chemical where it needs to be and will prove useless for this task. Finding the nest would be best and ideal; if you are unsure where the nest might be I would bait the attack and the living area.
The best products for this task would be the Gel and Granules. Bait the living area with the Carp Gel and the attic with the Carpenter Ant Granules. This will get any foraging inside and prevent them from nesting once they feed.
I also suggest doing a good inspection around the home and try to find any traveling or nesting around the property. Treat them as our article explains and you should be able to keep them off your land altogether which in the long run would prove the best strategy. As our article explains, letting them forage close to the home means they'll get inside at some point for sure.
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