Carpenter Ants

[#juan]

I'm not sure what this means but this afternoon there was a virtuall swarm of blank ants on the end of my roof at one end. I'm guessing about 2 to 300 insects. Some of the ants had wings and some didn't.. I'm going to take a few samples to people who handle bug infestations.
Anybody else had a problem with Carpenter Ants? Is there a simple solution?

 

[lone wolf]

I'm not sure what this means but this afternoon there was a virtuall swarm of blank ants on the end of my roof at one end. I'm guessing about 2 to 300 insects. Some of the ants had wings and some didn't.. I'm going to take a few samples to people who handle bug infestations.
Anybody else had a problem with Carpenter Ants? Is there a simple solution?

Are they ants or termites? I've had good luck with Raid - concentrated and close.

 

[Ron in Regina]

????

8O

 

[Hazmart]

Juan, when I lived in Lloydminster I had the same. It seemed like hundreds of ants were all over one corner of my house. Just like you, some had wings some not. But they were only there for a couple of days and after that I would only see a couple ants here and there. I wasn't at the same place the following spring so I am not sure if it happened again. Hopefully yours will be gone soon too!

 

[Bar Sinister]

Simple solution? Yes - concrete basements.

Actually it looks like a colony may have been sending out its females and males for mating. They mate - the males then die and the females look for a place to lay eggs. Happens every year. Just hope it doesn't happen in you attic.

BTW did they all have little hammers and saws?

 

[#juan]

Juan, when I lived in Lloydminster I had the same. It seemed like hundreds of ants were all over one corner of my house. Just like you, some had wings some not. But they were only there for a couple of days and after that I would only see a couple ants here and there. I wasn't at the same place the following spring so I am not sure if it happened again. Hopefully yours will be gone soon too!

Me too. In a fit of peak I sprayed them with my high pressure (2500 psi) water pump. All the outside bugs have gone and I can't seem to find any inside. I've got a guy coming tomorrow to do the ant insectiside thing. We have to leave the house for a day and a half. Be better to know the bugs aren't eating your house out from under you.

 

[Spade]

On Flying Ants
Quote:
"One behavior associated with some ants during mating swarms is "hilltopping". This refers to their aggregation around prominent points of a landscape where they search for mates. A large tree, the chimney of a roof or even a tractor moving across the plains might serve as such an "action site" for swarming winged ants. My favorite hilltopping site was the top of the US West tower in downtown Denver, which annually is the site for millions of harvester ants to aggregate.

"Although dramatic, swarming ants pose no harm or risk of increased ant infestation. Those seen emerging from a colony were always there and are in the process of leaving the colony permanently. Mated females amongst aggregating masses similarly disperse from the area."

 

[Spade]

The simple solution is ignore. It is a perfectly natural and periodic phenomenon. They most certainly pose no threat to house or gnome!

 

[VanIsle]

I'm not sure what this means but this afternoon there was a virtuall swarm of blank ants on the end of my roof at one end. I'm guessing about 2 to 300 insects. Some of the ants had wings and some didn't.. I'm going to take a few samples to people who handle bug infestations.
Anybody else had a problem with Carpenter Ants? Is there a simple solution?

I'm assuming you might be asking someone like me. I've seen a couple on our patio but nothing big like you have.

 

[wulfie68]

When my wife and I bought our house last fall, our home inspector thought there might be carpenter ants, so we brought over an exterminator to give us the once over. What he told us was that both carpenter ants and termites feed on wet wood: no moisture, no problems (as long as you have good siding/paint/etc, you should be OK in most cases). They love areas next to buildings that have leaves or other cover/protection and help keep temperature fluctuations to a minimum. He also told us that the ants are pattern oriented or habitual: if they persist, you can get rid of them by placing an insecticide on a path they use regularly. The other thing was he said they weren't anything to worry about unless there was a huge swarm... thats kinda relative but...

 

[eh1eh]

I'm not sure what this means but this afternoon there was a virtuall swarm of blank ants on the end of my roof at one end. I'm guessing about 2 to 300 insects. Some of the ants had wings and some didn't.. I'm going to take a few samples to people who handle bug infestations.
Anybody else had a problem with Carpenter Ants? Is there a simple solution?

Ant-B-Gone. Crappy Tire. That is all.

 

[EagleSmack]

Personally I don't take chances with carpenter ants and call an exterminator. Their chemicals are more powerful and they have the experience of knowing where to get them.