The back of our house is made of composite wood siding and has rotted out from flooding and carpenter ants. It is possible to replace part of the wall (only the bottom is rotted). Can anyone out there give us any suggestions? We would love to be able to do this ourselves rather than paying a lot of money. Thanks!
I worked for an exterminator for 1 1/2 years. Who said that Carpenter ants must be treated for three full years or they will return? Problem is because they can colonize up to 500 feet away and make their way to your property. I have them and keep them at bay "naturally" by literally hand picking them up and immediately dropping them in snack baggies and zipping them up/ tossing into a larger bag for the trash. I hope they will suffocate. I thought they might bite me, since they have no stinger, and look so vicious, but they don't. They are just tough and hard to kill unless you step on them.
They signal each other and DROP from wherever they are,usually on a wall. They are attracted also to water, and pet cereal, so sometimes I can trap a colony of them, catch them by hand quickly, bagging them and they don't return.
Boric Acid powder blown into their holes seems to stop them for a while. I have also used Raid, minimally, just inside the holes, and they go away from that spot for a longer time. However, I do have other signs of serious damage to this 45 yr. old home from something like termites or Carpenter ants, and I just live with it since I've done all I can do. It's about time to spray the old holes and the base of the board they're in again, twice a year. After that I pray and watch. God bless and help you, too. : )
DH and I took a circular saw and cut a level line thru the entire length of the side. We cut treated osb board (approx the same thickness) and nailed. We then filled the cracks with caulk. Next we covered wall with roofing paper and finished by putting vinyl siding over whole side. We did the work ourselves. When using the saw and nailing, please don't cut too deep into electrical wiring!
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