carpenter ant control

I have 2 big oak trees in my yard and the large carpenter ants seem to be getting a big colony on them. what is the best bait for these type of large carpenter ants. they seem to be doing a lot of damage to the trees. thanks in advance.

frank

 

This is a carpenter ant bait that could be used in that situation. Read application instructions and strategies.
I know you didn't ask, but I personally would spray the tree trunks about 4' to 5' up from the ground with a Fipronil (Active ingredient) based insecticide. That would be a concentrate mixed with water. Some brand name examples are: Termidor, Taurus SC, Fuse, and others. It works slowly so it gets spread through the colony, and is non-repellent. They don't know it's there, which is part of the strategy. It will look like it isn't working for a week or two. The baits work slowly, too.


https://www.domyown.com/advance-carp...ait-p-173.html

 

hey bugman: you say to spray the tree trunks with taurus about 4 or 5 feet from the ground. does that mean from the ground up to 4 or 5 feet or make a band around the tree at that height? how often do you have to use it, will rain wash it away? if I use the taurus do I have to use the bait also or would just the spray be enough? just curious as I have small kids around sometimes and wonder about leaving the bait around. thanks

 

The Taurus would work fine as a stand alone product. Just spray the tree trunk up to a height of 4-5 feet from the ground. No need to treat the ground when doing tree trunks. If/when treating house exterior perimeter, then you'd spray the soil perimeter about 1-2 feet out from the house. The label will be a good guide and info source for treating structures. Not sure if it talks about tree trunks though. When it dries, it will stay on the trunk, soil, house exterior, etc even in the rain. Direct sunshine is harder on modern day insecticides. As far as how many times to treat the tree trunks, I'd go with what the label says for the number of exterior structure treatments allowed per year. Offhand, I don't know what that is, but it's going to be 2-4 times annually, I'm thinking.

The dried spray and the baits are quite safe for people and pets to be around. The active ingredient in Taurus is fipronil, which is the active ingredient in Frontline, the flea/tick gel applied directly to dogs/cats. The baits have very low toxicity; otherwise the ants would die before getting it back to the colony and feeding the colony.

 

I bought the taurus sc and applied it according to directions and it worked really well. How often do you think I should apply this product for the ants.

 

For the tree trunks, once I'm convinced that the problem is under control, I'd treat once in the spring as a preventative. That's when new colonies are moving around looking for new harborage. Monitor for activity and reapply if necessary. Fipronil is outstanding on ants and termites and has a low impact as far as toxicity to people, pets and environment. Certainly don't want it in streams, ponds, etc. Always remember that Fipronil is a non-repellent and no repellent insecticides should be used in conjunction with or in the area of it, as that will work against the non-repellency strategy.

Exterior structure treatment: I'd treat an exterior high and low perimeter once or twice a year, monitoring in between for activity and reacting to that. Read the labeled instructions pertaining to carpenter ant treatment, post construction treatment, etc. The labels are extensive but you can browse the sub-category headlines and get to what you want without reading it like a book, though that's a good way to learn theory, strategy, mode of action, etc.