People say about good people: "The ant will not offend." But sometimes these small, but very stubborn insects are forced to fight them. This applies primarily to carpenter ants. What do they interfere with, and how to force them to go away? How to get rid of carpenter ants in the house?
Description of ants
Houses made of wood are eco-friendly, they are warm in winter and cool in summer. But sometimes uninvited guests settle in with the owners. And if rats or mice bring obvious harm, then carpenter ants at first glance may seem harmless. But actually it is not. Usually representatives of this species live in the forest. They don't bother anyone there. But often these insects build their anthills near housing. And it doesn’t matter what a person built his house from - brick, clay or concrete. Although most often ants settle and build their nests near wooden structures. They use wood as a building material for their home. A large number of moves machined inside the tree make it loose. The ants undermine the lower logs, causing the house to slowly butcorrectly destroyed.
The red-breasted wood borer ant is quite large: the body length of males reaches 12 mm, and females are slightly larger - 15 mm. Body color brown or black, chest red. The body of an ant is divided into segments. The abdomen is oval, and the chest is thin, cubic in shape with smooth curves on top. A pair of antennae, antennae and large jaws are noticeable on the head. Females differ from males in the presence of wings, which they shed after mating. Sometimes males also have wings. The main part of carpenter ants are workers. They find building material and drag it to the anthill, doing construction work.
Signs of ants in the house
Carpenter ants leave behind traces of vital activity - wooden dust that looks like flour. It is the building material for an insect nest. It is easiest to spot it early in the morning or evening. It was then that they began the period of collecting building materials. Among the dust and sawdust, dead insects are often found.
Ants move one after another across the developed territory, so they are easy to spot on the floor or near the walls of the house.
Following these laborers, you can quickly determine the place chosen by them. The proof that the carpenter ants settled near the house are rather large white eggs hidden in the nest. If the dust is located next to a wooden building, they carefully examine the walls of the house, pierce the walls with a thin screwdriver. This iswill help to detect moves inside the tree.
Sometimes wood borers build a whole colony in the vicinity of the house. In this case, they lay paths between individual nests. Sometimes they can pass through the territory of the house. There they easily penetrate through microscopic cracks.
Where to look for ants
- Woodworms take up residence in damp wood because it becomes soft when exposed to water. It is much easier to make holes in such material. Therefore, they investigate the sewer outlets.
- Check existing door mats.
- Inspect the foundation and courtyards.
- Looking for woodworms in the grass, lawns, under the bushes.
- Examine the area around young trees. It is usually covered with a thick layer of damp mulch or leaves that ants love to nest in. To find them, shovel the mulch and scan the ground.
- Woodworms can live in compost heaps. Sometimes they settle in the floors, in potted plants.
How to prevent ants from spawning
No need to wait for the appearance of ants in the house. All possible measures should be taken to prevent them from appearing.
For this purpose, branches are cut that lean close to the windows. All flowers, vegetables and fruits are inspected and shaken off so as not to bring insects into the house. Do not leave piles of garbage, branches, last year's leaves on the site. They can become a haven for carpenter ants.
The inside of the house must be kept clean, the floors washed frequently, and the trash can covered. It is forbiddenleave unwashed dishes. Windows should be covered with nets, doors should not be left open.
If there are ant heaps near the site, the danger of moving them into the house increases. To scare away uninvited guests, you can sprinkle substances with a pungent odor. These are essential oils, pepper, turmeric, cinnamon.
Woodworms or termites
Outwardly, the black borer ant looks like a termite. In order to determine the type of insects, you need to carefully look at them and their actions. The presence of dust along the paths of their movement indicates that these are wood borers.
Termites feed on wood, and wood borers only dig tunnels in it. It is better to look for the roads of ants early in the morning or in the evening.
How to find the nest
How to get rid of carpenter ants? First you need to find their nest. To do this, you need to follow the movement of insects along the paths they have marked. They will show traces of dust carried by large black ants. The wood borer lives in damp trees, lying poles, boards, leaving noticeable winding passages on them. Near the nest, the amount of dust increases significantly.
In addition, you can look for places on the tree where the wood is most damp. This is where carpenter ants like to place their nests. How to get rid of them?
How to deal with woodworms
There are several ways to deal with woodworms. Which one to choose depends on several conditions.
You can use chemical and naturalinsect control agents. Near the house it is better to use organic folk remedies. Especially if there are children and animals there. But in some cases, chemicals have to be used in inaccessible places.
You can do something radical and destroy the nest of ants. If you do this shortly after they settle in, they will leave. But they can move to another place or settle in several colonies, while creating new problems.
Special baits help well in the fight against ants. Their action is prolonged and more reliable.
You need to be careful not to get ants on the skin of your hands. In a calm state, they do not harm a person. But in the event of an attack on the nest, they begin to bite painfully. The burning sensation is further enhanced by the fact that they inject formic acid into the wound.
Mechanism of action of toxic bait
If it is difficult to get to the nest, toxic baits are installed near the insects' dwelling. It is good to mix their contents with sweet foods. Ants, having discovered a "treat", try it themselves and bring it into the anthill. There they infect their fellows, as a result of which they die. It takes three days from infection to death.
Now gel baits are popular, for example "Anteater", "Clean House", "Great Warrior". They are mixed with jam or sprinkled with sugar. Near one nest set 3 baits. It is better to choose those that act slowly. Then the ant will surely have time to get into the anthill and transfer the poison.
Gel baitsvery efficient. They help to get rid of insects forever. Treatment with chemicals should be carried out in a respirator, making sure that they do not get on the skin of the hands and face, in the respiratory tract. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling.
Spray fight
A nest that is easy to get close to can be destroyed with sprays. They put a special powder - a remedy for carpenter ants. In stores that specialize in pest control products, there is a wide selection of such drugs. You can use ready-made sprays: Dichlorvos, Regent, Raptor. Direct the jet towards the nest. Processing is carried out several times. It is best to do this in the evening when all the ants have returned home.
Do not spray the paths along which insects move. The drug will scare away the worker ants, who will soon build another path for themselves, and the queen will remain and will continue to breed.
Remember: these products are highly toxic. Therefore, using them to combat woodworm ants in the house, you must follow the instructions for using the drug. Do not spray where children or pets can get in.
Use chemicals in a respirator and protective suit. Protect hands with gloves.
Using Boric Acid
Boric acid is used to fight various insects, including woodworm ants. To do this, mix it with sugarin a ratio of 2:1. The resulting mixture is laid out in a small bowl and set around the nest. Ants go to sugar, along with it, boric acid enters the body. It dissolves the insect from the inside. Workers bring boric acid into the nest. So she will get to the females and other inhabitants, destroying them.
Folk ways of fighting
If chemical methods cannot be used, try to use folk remedies:
- Fill the nest with boiling water or vinegar. At the same time, a significant part of the ants die.
- Use the arrows of garlic (put them in the anthill). Insects are afraid of this strong smell.
- A dish with sugar syrup bait is placed near the anthill. Ants crawl into it to eat and drown there.
- Mix yeast with water and sugar or coffee grounds, which kill insects.
- Prepare black soap by mixing 400 g of laundry soap, 200 g of kerosene and carboxylic acid (2 tablespoons). Dilute with warm water and fill the anthill. Repeat after 2 days 3 times.
- To destroy an anthill, this method is only suitable if it is away from home. Fill it with kerosene and set it on fire.
You can use one or more different methods to get rid of woodworms.
