Does anyone have an eco-friendly way to rid a home of carpenter ants or termites short of replacing all the infected wood?
CC from Northern IN
I don't know about termites but I use diatamaceous earth for ants. It's crushed shells & it works great.
Kill insect with spray for killing the insects - like RAID ect. - them seal the wood with paint or varnish.
dont know about termites but you should do something soon cause the damage is worse than any home repair on you pocket book and carpenter ants and all ants dont crawl over coffee grinds i put out my used ones and it works great
You must get professional help to get rid of termites. Believe me, I know from experience. We tried spraying then sealing the wood but a year later had to replace a whole bathroom wall, costing several thousand dollars.
Yep. LOTS of used coffee grounds right on the ground where they enter/exit. However, worms and GRUBS LOVE the grounds, so don't be surprised when
you get what looks like Genetically Modified worms and grubs next season, especially if you move rocks
near the coffee ground treated areas. I was SO shocked to see the size of the grubs, which looked like my 9 yr. old grandson's THUMB !!! The biggest of all 38 ? years I've lived here!!! lol : )
easy one
mix spoon of borax, spoon glycerine, spoon sugar and place in entrance, they will feed the queen with it, and nest will die!
you can treat wood with boric acid products, but tend to be expensive.
Where do you buy diatamaceous earth ??
Just found a good site on carpenter ants. www.extension.umn.edu/
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I am overcome with ants, carpenter ants. Anyone have any ideas for a homemade solution or any solution? How do you get rid of them?
By Zoya from Collinsville, AL
I called an exterminator to get rid of mine. They were gone within two days.
I use Borox (twenty mule team laundry detergent) sprinkle powder inside cabinets and window seals. It contains boric acid. It is safe for children and pets, but should not be within their reach, and they should not be breathing fumes. Use the hose attachment on your sweeper to clean up powder after a few days, then take bag out to trash. This powder should not be used on pets or humans.
I mix equal parts sugar and borax with enough water to dissolve in a fairly flat lid and set it on the floor near an wall. It takes about three days but then there are no ants (or other creepy crawlies). You may have to keep a continual supply out for some time, but it works.
Carpenter ants are nothing to try to exterminate yourself, they are like termites. Call a professional before they eat your whole house!
I use Terro ant killer. You put the liquid Terro in flat bottle caps around where the ants are. at first, you will see a lot because they come and get it to take back to their nest, and then they disappear.
Carpenter ants for the most part are a nuisance ant, though they are considered a wood destroying insect, they rarely do any damage at all. They never eat wood, just will tunnel in it usually wood already damaged from rot or termite...90% of all carpenter ant work I do.
They will not be nesting around any wood at all, just a hollow area such as the tubing that makes up the frame for screens and storm windows. Common areas of wood they are found would be hollow core doors and the hollow areas under the window sill.
They will not feed on the commercial baits found at stores for other house hold ants such as Terro, but you can get a specialty bait called MaxForce Carpenter Ant gel that works good for an inside infestation and Advance Carpenter Ant granules for outside, both work well when professionally tackling them and be found on the web.
Carpenter ants are eating my porch! Any easy solutions?
By CHRISTINE from Dubuque
I get them about every other year in the house when it is very dry and they are looking for water and damp places. I hire an exterminator. Or you could try the products at Lowe's or Home Depot. They come in sprayable containers and are supposed to last a couple of months.
have you tried putting out some Sweet N Low or sprinkling it around where the ants are gathering?
It works for tiny ants where I live.
But I'm also experimenting with powdered meat tenderizer, the kind you buy in the spice section of the grocery store. Make sure it has papain in it.
Maybe you could mix it with the sweet n low. Like try one packet to 1/4 teaspoon of meat tenderizer.
If you do try it, would you please post your results? I'd like to see if my experimenting works and if you made any changes in the proportions.
Good luck. Hate ants.
Hope this helps you with your problem.
We had them in our roof of our other house but didn't know it for years. The roof leaked, we repaired it with tar, 2 years later it would leak again, we repaired it. This went on for years. Finally we decided to put on a new roof. When they took off the shingles the roof was full of carpenter ants. We were told to pour javax on them. My husband did and it killed them all. We built the new roof and as far as I know there has not been a problem since.(we sold that house 16 years ago). Hope this helps.
Will Epsom salt hurt my palms and other plants and my dog? I put some all around my plants to see if it would get rid of carpenter ants.
By Sheila
No way I use epson salts all the time. It's great. May do your plants a favor. It's just magnesium.
I have problems with carpenter ants and my wood outside walls. I have problems with wasps settling in outside areas and they also go between where the slider frames are set on the wood base. Where do I put coffee grounds?
By Gail S from Bartlett, NH
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I am looking for a good way to get rid of carpenter ants. Any ideas?
How can I kill carpenter ants without using an exterminator? Already have one on retainer for termites. I really don't want to give them any more money.
