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.