Using Carpenter Ants Boric Acid
This article discusses the use of carpenter ants boric acid as a way to control these ant pests that destroy wooden structures in the home. These ants are dependent on aphids that they raise for the honeydew. Thus, a previous control technique was to kill the aphids found in the plants surrounding the home by spraying them with insecticide. Unfortunately, these ants were found to be capable of searching for aphids for a distance as far as several hundred yards. It has also been found that spraying insecticide on the ants is not effective in reducing their population and in fact may result into an increase in the number of nests. This is because synthetic insecticides are repellent, which means that the ants can detect them and will therefore avoid these chemicals. What is needed is something that is odorless and cannot be detected. Thus, carpenter ants boric acid became well-known as a way to get rid of these pests.
Beware Of Synthetic Insecticides
When performing do it yourself pest control in your home, you may find that spraying synthetic insecticide close to the nests of the carpenter ants can worsen the problem. If the chemical is close the nest, the queen will be able to detect the insecticide and apply a certain survival strategy. The queen ant will order its worker ants to divide into two or more groups and establish other nests. Each new nest will have a queen and the effect is that the ant population will increase.
Why Boric Acids Works
It's Odorless - What is required is something that is odorless like carpenter ants boric acid and which is not considered to be a threat by the ants.
Effectively Kills Ants - In reality, however, the boric acid destroys the nervous system of the ants and kills them.
Mix The Boric Acid With Food - A common strategy is to use a mixture of boric acid and food so that when the ants bring the food to the nests, other members of the colony will also ingest the chemical and die. An important rule to remember when determining how to kill carpenter ants is that when the infestation is quite extensive, exposing the boric acid to ants outside the nests would not be sufficient. You need to find the location of the nests inside the wood structures and then bore holes near them and put in the boric acid.
Boric Acid Bait - When it is difficult to pinpoint the location of the nests, baits containing carpenter ants boric acid may be required. The bait is a particular kind of food that is a favorite of these ants so that these insects will be encouraged to bring the bait to their nests. The amount of boric acid is quite small so that the ants do not become alarmed. And because ants have the habit of sharing the food in their stomach with other members of the colony, this poison of ants will gradually be distributed to the different members of the colony. It is advisable to check on the baits regularly to see if the ants are feeding on them.
If you follow these steps you should be able to deal with a carpenter ant infestation effectively. If you still have problems after trying these methods then it would be advisable to consult a professional. Remember that in most cases prevention is better than cure, so if possible you should always keep your food sealed so that there is no reason for these ants to come into your home in the first place.
