Re: FLORIDA CARPENTER ANT problem on outside of house
- From: "JimR" <jimr@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2007 20:17:18 GMT
"Jazz" <jbraly@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1175293670.954862.295800@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[snip]
However, I have a 3rd type of ant which I assume to be a "FLORIDA
CARPENTER ANT" (more details here:
http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/carp.htm
)
they are black and red. Not small, but certainly not 1950s-era horror
movie size either.
I rarely see them on the ground but mostly see them on my fascia board
around my house. I may even spot them slipping in and out a small
crack in my facia boards (where they meet) around my house.
[snip]
If your infestation is like most, it's because they migrated into your walls
or attic at some time when there was an easy and available route. The
suggestion that you probably have fascia damage is a good one, but I suspect
that you have an ant's nest either in your walls or attic, and that they
travel to the outside of the house rather than have access into your living
area.
In our case, one evening I discovered a parade of ants coming from an
outdoor nest, up a section of garden hose that was lying across a downspout,
up the downspout, across the fascia to a specific opening in the soffit.
This nest never invaded the living space, but apparently thrived via access
to the outside, until the next summer when they swarmed, and at that time
discovered a tiny opening into the channel of an aluminum window frame where
the fliers crawled down the frame and into the living space through a small
screw hole in the frame. It wasn't until they swarmed that we knew for sure
there was a nest in the attic.
Two suggestions:
A. At dusk or shortly thereafter, with a good strong flashlight walk around
the entire house looking for ants or trails of ants on your siding, fascia,
gutters, downspouts, etc. Also check around where you've seen them going
in/out of the fascia to see if you can define a trail they are following.
During the daytime, you may find little black marks around places where
they've gone through the fascia. If possible, carefully and thoroughly also
inspect your attic, especially at/after dark.
B. Once you've determined where the ants may be located, and they possibly
are in your attic, you may be able to kill them off with some aerosol bombs
that are available at HD, Lowes, etc. Also, seal up the access points, and
remove or block their path from the outside. If they're in the walls of the
house you may want to get professional help in getting rid of them.
Regards --
.
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