We have discovered an infestation of carpenter ants in our decking outside (which we plan to remove).  I would like to order Termidor, but would like some instructions on use.  Can we use a regular sprayer?  How should it be applied?

Carpenter ants will readily forage onto anything that has wood including homes, garages, trees and most certainly decks. Since they can travel far as explained in our CARPENTER ANT CONTROL article, the nest may not even be located on your property. Still, allowing these ants to forage on the deck would be a mistake. Our advice is always the same when it comes to this ant.

First, do a good inspection of the premises to see if there is a nest anywhere close. The video we have featured in the article that explains how to track their trails to a nest should prove to be very helpful in accomplishing this task. If any nests are found, treat them with the PYGANIC or DRIONE dust for quick and immediate control.

Second, whether you find a nest or not, the turf around the home should be treated with the CARPENTER ANT GRANULES. This bait will be found and fed upon by any foraging onto your property and can do a great job of reducing this activity. Remember, ants foraging on your property is essential for them to create a new nest. Interrupt this behavior and you interrupt their ability to establish nests.

Third, spray the house with something like the TERMIDOR using a good PUMP SPRAYER. This material can be applied to the foundation as well as the decking and once the ants walk over it, the nest will be shut down within a few days regardless of where it might be located. All it takes is one ant coming in contact with the Termidor and impact will be devastating to the colony.

In summary, you could attempt to use just the Termidor to solve this problem but many times there are more than just one colony active in any one area. That means foraging ants in your turf could start new colonies if you don't apply the granules so don't neglect this important step.

Carpenter ants can be a real problem once they nest on or in your home. I'm not sure you have a nest in your house just yet and hopefully you don't. Since carpenter ants can cause a lot of damage, they're the one type of ant you never want nesting inside your house.

For starters, I suggest you read through our on line article about CARPENTER ANT CONTROL. There you'll find most of your questions answered about the biology and recommended treatments for this ant. Based on the information you listed above, I think a good foundation spraying with TERMIDOR will keep them out. For the ants that are foraging around in the grass, apply some CARPENTER ANT GRANULES. This food based bait they seem to love and will quickly accept your placements. Once they feed, any nests close by will die and this should insure you don't get new nests on your house.

To get rid of carpenter ants foraging around the house, the best approach is to spray the foundation and bait the turf where they are active. As explained in our CARPENTER ANT CONTROL ARTICLE, these ants have a large range and many times will come to one yard to feed even though their nest is in another yard. At first this activity may seem innocent but eventually these ants will either establish a nest inside or on the home outside (which is bad) so don't let them have access to your deck.

To stop this activity, there are two things you should do. First, bait the perimeter of the home with CARPENTER ANT GRANULES. Carpenter ants love this stuff and will quickly find your placement. Do this application first and don't do anything else for 3 days. After three days go ahead and spray the foundation with some TERMIDOR or SUSPEND. This residual will provide a much needed barrier on the home so any straglers which are still active will be affected so the local colony will know to stay away for good.