carpenter ants

[brian-bailey]

Re: carpenter ants

Maybe this stuff will help. You can get it through Amazon.com

Tim-Bor Professional

[Brian T]

Re: carpenter ants

They got into the wall in my D2's bedroom. Little sawdust piles were the give-away.
Called the bug-killer guys and hauled away as much source wood (little retaining walls) in the yard as possible.
Sorry to read about the major window rebuild.

[rickm]

Re: carpenter ants

eddy I hear you. ten yrs ago I would hve stripped it down and rebuilt it myself. and probably ended up with a less than perfect result. today, a pro is going to do it. my physicality has gone to the point where I can barely use my left hand, not to mention the whole spine thing so its really impossible for me to do it. even though im stupid enough to still try. In fact I might have to give up carving if I don't find some relief from all this pain.

[Eddy-Smiles]

Re: carpenter ants

Remember Rick.... When it comes to home repairs the general rule is that you can always try to do it yourself and screw it up twice, before it would have been cheaper to have a professional do it in the first place! With that in mind I almost always did my own home repairs and remodeling until mother nature and father time had other ideas.

[Buffalo Bif]

Re: carpenter ants

Local hardware store has some amazing products while you are waiting for repairs. had carp ants in my bathroom window, pulled the trim on the outside (needed replacing anyway) sprayed an Ortho product in there replaced the trim and caulked. Went inside to clean up and found few thousand dead and dying ants all over the bathroom.
Good thing the wife was out. Laughed my butt off as I shop vacced them up.

[rickm]

Re: carpenter ants

well whittle everything I have read so far says insurance doesn't cover, except if the house is in danger of collapse. I am mulling over calling them, but I don't want my rates to go up. I was going to try and talk to some local contractors first.

[Just Carving]

Re: carpenter ants

Rick

I have a ranch on a slab. I found carpenter ants in a raised wooden closet floor about 10-15 years ago. I got a Ortho product--a yellow powder and put as much in the floor as I could. Long story short, I got rid of them. But not too long after we started with termites. We called Western Pest Control. They put traps in the ground and it took a bit of time but we got rid of them. I still have them maintaining a perimeter today. I spotted a couple of large ants in the kitchen and am now keeping my eyes open. I'm guessing they came in by the dryer vent which is where Mother Nature's critters come in from the outside.

A few years ago, I had a contractor redo the the whole outside of the house from the sheet rock out--insulation, sheathing, sheathing paper, insulation and siding. Also had him do windows and doors too. He found evidence of insect damage--including structural damage to the corner of the house, but no insects. It was a scary time dealing with the insects. The windows were showing rot in the sills because the sills were not installed properly--sloping down and out. So ice/snow/water laid there and seeped under the window.

The point of my story is to let you know you're not alone. The environment has changed and so the insects are flourishing. Hang in there and use your common sense. And if in doubt, call a professional. They may help you out and not charge a dime. I had a couple do me favors. Needless to say, they were the ones I'd call back for other work and paid them what they charged without too much haggling.

I would call the insurance company and check to see if there is anything they can do to help you out. They have their own contractors and often, that alone will save you a lot of money. I went through a oil tank cleanup and if I had called my insurance first, I could have saved myself a lot of money. The contractor I hired initially approached the cleanup his way-removing contaminated soil while the insurance company's contractor cleaned the remaining soil but using a sump well to catch the oil from the ground water and then pumped it off. He would have done that to begin with and not done any excavating except for the underground tank removal. I paid nothing for the water to be disposed of while I paid $95 a ton for contaminated soil that I owned to be hauled away. Once I reached the limit of coverage on the groundwater cleanup, I had to pay out of pocket--which was minimal compared to the soil disposal which is what made it much more expensive. So, from my experience, it's better to call the insurance company and ask. No one says you have to make a claim. And they might even send out an adjustor to give you an honest idea of what you need to do and should be paying.

God luck

Bob L

[rickm]

Re: carpenter ants

tanx guys it might be awhile I vacuumed the heck out of it and haven't seen to many around lately.

[GinnytooU]

Re: carpenter ants

What ever happens let us know. Good luck to ya. Ginny

[rickm]

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.

[Nomad]

Re: carpenter ants

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.

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. Then they built a basement and had a modular installed over it.

[Eddy-Smiles]

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.

[rickm]

Re: carpenter ants

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.

[Lazy Carver]

Re: carpenter ants

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...

[honketyhank]

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.