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I got carpenter ants in a bay window and its pretty bad, they have pretty much destroyed most of the bottom frame. I guess I will have to get a carpenter in to rip it apart and fix it, but other than call orkin is there a way to get rid of these things? I have read that baking soda will do it, and Im thinking of pressure washing the things out of there. but I might be fooling myself. just asking how bad this really might be./
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Re: carpenter ants
Carpenter ants are attracted to wet wood. Slow leaks, hidden leaks, and places where moisture from the outside can enter and waterlog wood are prime attractants for carpenter ants. They build their nests in the wet wood.Terry -
Re: carpenter ants
If you take away their little hammers, and saws, maybe they wouldn't build a nest,
Just trying to be helpful, TomIf I took the time to fix all my mistakes, I wouldn,t have time to make new ones.
www.spokanecarvers.comComment
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Re: carpenter ants
Nomad is correct about the wet wood but it doesn't necessarily have to be from a direct leak. Around windows it can be from the build up of moisture caused by condensation from poorly insulated windows and frames. If you have a Do-It-Yourself spray company in your town I'd recommend that you pay them a visit. He'll sell you a small spray can about half the size of a normal bug spray aerosol can. It will have a spray tip on it what like what comes on a can of WD-40. You insert it in cracks and crevices where you suspect the carpenter ants are. It might take a couple of treatments but it will do the job. I had them in my house for years. Nothing is more unnerving than waking up in the middle of the night with a king sized flying ant crawling across your face. I finally got rid of them using this method and then when I changed out the windows I found that they had built their nests in the frames where it was nice and moist from the condensation. Good luck!Comment
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eddy give me the name of number or something pls.Comment
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Re: carpenter ants
thank you and this is getting progressively not funny. I ripped the sides off it this morning and guess what? its all disintegrated. so now I have to find a handy man to rebuild the whole thing and I might as well put a new window in it as well. im figuring it will be about 5k to put it all together.Comment
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TerryComment
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Re: carpenter ants
Where I live (western Oregon) carpenter ants are not something for amateurs to try to tackle. They can do a lot of damage relatively quickly. They might have a nest inside your structure or they might have one outside. In any case, professional help is good help. I have a (lapsed) Certified Pesticide Applicator license from pre-retirement jobs. Not specifically for structural pests, but I understand insects and "insect behavior". When I saw them chewing away, I called a pro. And when he saw where they were basically invading from, I hired him to come back twice a year to protect the house from what was inevitably going to be an invasion from rotten wood piles in a wetland adjacent to my property. Wiping out a nest inside your structure is job one. Establishing a defensive perimeter is job two. Both are necessary.
Consider it a good investment in protection of your assets. I do.HonketyHank toot tootComment
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Talk about fighting fire with fire! While a carpenter might fix the damage, he won't be able to fix the bug problem. Ant's are just way too resilient! They seem to get in everything. While i prefer ant pestilence over roach pestilence anytime, the buggers just wont quit. Orkin, and keeping clean is the best solution, but i couldn't tell you if that will solve the problem with the critters. As i said, they are resilient. Our roach problem long ago was solved with some baking soda and bombing..... At least we thought... It was the ants that really did away with the roaches. Now we can't get rid of the ants. It's not as bad now, as we do bomb regularly, but in the spring, they seem to find their way in to the house.Glad they hate sycamore... Whew..!!! I hope this cheered you up...
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this whole thread is making me nauseous. when I think of the money im going to spend fixing this, well I could easily have a 14 inch bandsaw, a workbench, every pfeil gouge made, in fact I could probably hire someone to carve for me and be money ahead. I might add its a big window.Comment
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Re: carpenter ants
Rick.. If you figure that you've got 5K worth of damage then you might possibly have more work than a handy man can handle. You could be looking at structural and a licensed contractor. 5k sounds awfully high. Before I did anything I'd get some estimates just to get a good idea of just what the extent of damage actually is and the actual cost. I'd also get a licensed professional exterminator company in to determine just what is going on. I've seen instances where termites have done their work and carpenter ants have moved in afterwards.Comment
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Don't want to alarm you but my sister and her husband had this problem once. They were replacing flooring and found carpenter ants clear through the flooring of the house. They called out the fire department and let them burn the house down.Originally posted by rickm View Post Then they built a basement and had a modular installed over it.
TerryComment
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Re: carpenter ants
im sure its pretty well confined to the one window but I had thought of that eventuality, that they are basically extensive. and you really cant alarm me more than I am.Comment
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Re: carpenter ants
What ever happens let us know. Good luck to ya. GinnyComment
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