Since carpenter ants are nocturnal, we often cannot find them during the time of service. If you only report them to be random sightings, we are a bit limited in what we can do for interior treatments. We can inspect for water damaged areas. And do a crack and crevice treatment to these areas. Otherwise, we place bait in effected areas. Or just treat the exterior if weather conditions are correct.
Carpenter Ant Control Strategy
To get rid of carpenter ants, you want to protect your home with an exterior perimeter treatment. And you want to target the nesting sites directly if possible. This includes the main colony and any satellite nests. If we cannot find the nests, then we use bait to get products back to the main colony. Interior sprays generally are not necessary during the summer months.
There are many different products available for use inside.
Dust
Dusting is a great way to eliminate an area that ants can use. The benefit is that dust lasts for a very long time. Dust is not applied in exposed areas of your living space though. Dust is effective when injected into a wall, bath traps, subfloors, soffits, windows, doors, or under siding. Some dust will not work if it gets wet. And sadly, carpenter ants will be in moist crevices. If it is dry, we use Cimexa dust or Alpine dust. If moist, we use Delta dust or Nibor D.
Granular Bait
Granular bait is another good option. Especially if you have carpenter ants inside during the colder months. Carpenter ants feed on insect carcasses. So granular bait mimics this type of feeding. Carpenter ants tend to be picky eaters though. So, it is a good idea to have a few different baits available for them. Once inside, they seek water. In this case, strategically placed gel bait can knock them out fast. For this application, it helps to identify their pathways and entrances into the home.
Granular bait is best placed in areas of significant activity. For example, you can put bait on a business card and slide it into the crack on top of cabinets to get it being them. Or use a bulb duster to place granular bait into sink bases around plumbing lines. Or toss some into an attic. Effective baits are Invict Xpress, Maxforce Complete, and Advance Carpenter Ant Bait.
Foam
Foam pesticides are a great option too. The foam is applied from an aerosol can, with a crack and crevice straw. The foam expands to fill the crevice. Then slowly dissolves. This works similar to dusting. It doesn’t last as long but it has less of an inhalation hazard. We use Termidor, Fuse or D Foam.
Aerosol And Gel Bait
Sometimes the crevice to too small to apply dust or foam. In this case, we will use Alpine PT Aerosol or gel bait.
Strategically placed gel bait can be the most effective treatment inside. Especially, for those tricky early spring infestations.
Not all ant gel bait is labeled for carpenter ants. Fipronil gel baits work the best. Maxforce gel bait is our choice. You can get Combat ant gel bait from some stores. We recommend this to customers who want to bait the trees on their property. It is a great way to keep carpenter ants to a minimum outside.