So I moved into a new place at the end of last summer - house built within two years of when I moved in - it's an apartment on the basement level.

About two months ago, carpenter ants started showing up - I was killing about 2 dozen a day manually - ant traps not working, the owner of the building sprayed something on the outside - they started to taper off to about three to four a day that I killed - away for the weekend, going to throw out my trash - filled with the ants.

I don't care about them, but my three year old daughter is scared of them walking around ... I don't want to use poison in the apartment - but what other choice do I have? There must be a nest somewhere in one of the walls in my area ...

... any of you guys have thoughts on solutions? As referenced above, I don't really want to be spraying poison, especially as my daughter visits with me at least twice a week and I'd rather get rid of these pest.

Thanks for your ideas.

good advice here
http://www.striped-bass.net/Stripertalk/showthread.php?t=40742&highlight=ants
borax :btu:

I use some stuff I get from a friend that's a manager at Lesco's and this stuff is the best. It is a residual (sp) that you mix a capful to a gallon of water, spray it wherever you want it (inside or outside) and let it dry. Once it dries it's pretty harmless to kids or pets unless they actually lick the area where you sprayed it, it lasts for about 4 months and let me tell you it kills anything that walks through it in minutes.

I spray the outside of my house twice a year and I never get so much as a spider inside my house, I have 2 dogs and 2 grandchilden too and no worries of them getting ill from this stuff. This stuff is about $40.00 a bottle but a bottle will last you about 10 years spraying 3 times a year. My customers love it when I spray their houses and the bugs don't come back. Let me know if you're intersted and I'll get the name of it for you.

thanks guys --

will get the tero and the borax ... Teaser, if you can give me the name of the stuff you use, it's worth having on hand.

Thx

the only place those carpenter ant's will build a colony is where something never got flashed or something was incorrectly built
as in two joists doubled up somewhere that never gets a chance to
dry out... making the wood perfect for them to chew.
the wet spot..........
you find that and your problem is easy to solve...otherwise they keep coming back.

Yesterday I moved a tarp to find an ant colony with thousands of eggs. In less than ten minutes they ants had packed their belongings and moved every single egg off to somewhere else.

That's amazing when you think about it. Their social order and instinct must be very strong and very simple.

-spence

Carpenter Ants=Water. As THE Raven already said get rid of the water and the ants go away,

Get some boric acid ...... it's a white powder ....... I usually get it at the Dollar Stores down here .......... get a couple of old film cannisters and poke a few holes in the tops big enough for the ants to get in. Stuff the cannister 1/2 way with cotton balls. Take a stir and a small disposable cup (bathroom mouthwash size is fine) Mix equal parts of sugar and the Boric acid with with a few drops of warm water until you get a thick syrup. Fill the cannister and smear alittle on the outside of the cannister to the holes. Then put the cannister in the area you find the ants. Hopefully behind something where kids and animals don't go. THen let the ants swarm over the cannister and feed to their hearts content. THey will take the stuff back to the nest and in a week or so the whole nest will be dead. This really works.
just keep it away from animals and kids. The good thing is that you don't have to spray ........ it also works better than the commerical ant traps

Also ....... keep your eyes out for termites ......... an exterminator told me that carpenter ants love to eat termites .........

The boric acid is safe around kids and pets. You can find it at Wally World in the laundry detergent isle.

Since you have carpenter ants i would suggest mixing with sugar and sawdust. You can also spread it directly around your foundation.

Used this last year on ants coming in my basement and they have not been back