doctorsteve, I live in Florida which has been called (among other names) the termite capital of the world. I have also seen the damage that termites can do if unnoticed. And yes, I have seen and treated termites in mulched areas close to my house. The current trend of protecting the inside of the house without treating the inside of the house, is a concept which I whole heartedly support. Therefore I would mulch with the most effective material BUT I will inspect my whole landscape, in a regimented fashion, to satisfy myself that I do not have an incipient problem. I would hope to catch problems early because I know that it is much more holistic to treat a landscape problem in its earliest stage.

Acutally, to clarify, carpenter ants will not leave just because moisture problems are fixed. If there's an established nest, it's not going anywhere unless you kill the ants, run them out with something that disturbs them (and if they're in the house the place they'll run to will almost certainly be another part of the house), or remove the wood in which their nest is located (in which case they'll just establish another nest nearby). And BTW, there have been plenty of documented cases of carpenter ant nests in otherwise healthy or unblemished wood (i.e. not water-logged or even stained from previous moisture). Carpenter ant nests can be destroyed by killing the inhabitants of a particular nest, but that does not rid an area of them. Established queen nests will have satellite nests, and killing a queen prompts the otherwise sterile workers to produce eggs for the purpose of creating another queen. If the main nest and all its satellite nests are destroyed, there is still a chance of re-infestation in the future by neighboring colonies further out that spread into the newly vacated area. Monitoring for, and possibly treating for, carpenter ants is just one of those things that has to be done regularly when you own a house that has wood in its structure (in an area known to have carpenter ants -- which is almost everywhere in the U.S.). Oh, and finding carpenter ants in a house doesn't necessarily mean you have a nest in the house. Carpenter ants can be in a house just as scouts, so the idea that lack of moisture will keep them out of the house is incorrect. They prefer to tunnel through moist wood for a nest, but they will scout anywhere within 100 yards of their nest. And I mean anywhere. If there is a nest near the house, and there's a way into your house, they will almost certainly end up in there. That doesn't mean they're turning your framing into swiss cheese; in such a case they're just looking for food. Carpenter ants do not consider our houses to be sacrosanct -- inviolate unless the sin of failed maintenance is committed. They do not distinguish between forests and houses, or woodpiles and houses, and while it's true that they're attracted to moist wood, they do not require it -- it is simply a convenience for them. Like lions picking the weakest animal in a herd, it's just easier. As for your original quaestion, I've never used the gel, but it's generally considered worth the price if used as recommended. For the gel, it's important to use it in a well-travelled (by carpenter ants) area, with the understanding that it can be attractive to other insects and animals, and that it can lose its attractiveness quickly as it hardens from exposure to air. You need to locate the foraging trails and put it as close to the nest as possible -- protected from the elements and from other creatures -- and renew it at intervals (the packaging will go into more detail) if you know there are still ants in the area. The most effective way to treat carpenter ants is generally considered to be: 1. Ensure that there are no nests in the house (track the ants, kill with bait if you're uncertain of their location, or kill with drione dust if they are in a house and location is known and accessible). 2. Use a perimeter treatment at regular intervals (for the life of the home) to keep them out of the house. Ants in a natural setting do not necessarily need to be destroyed. If you are sure there are none in your house and you use perimeter treatments correctly, ants in the landscape should not be a problem (unless they're destroying something alse you cherish, like a fence). Carpenter ants are everywhere -- they exist, and there's nothing we can do about it. Get them out of your house (if they're there), keep them out, and let the ones outdoors do their thing.

Last weekend we found some bugs in the house and I thought they were termites, but it turned out to be winged ants. We called ABC Pest and Lawn to come out to treat the area since we used them for our previous treatment and have a contract with them. They use Termidor. While I was still thinking they were termites, I went outside to look for a tube on the house and found one that ran right up beind where the gutter comes down on the side of our house. It was up about 3 feet! This was a different spot than the area we had treated last year. I checked the nearby termite station and fireants were in there, so termites were present there too since fireants like to eat termites. We had the guy come out from ABC Pest and Lawn and he checked the tube but could not find a spot where they were actually getting into the house - THANK GOODNESS! He also found one of the ants and confirmed it was an ant and not termites. So, they will be back out to treat that area for termites when it dries up (it had rained yesterday morning so it was too wet) next week and I will put bait out for the ants. I had also found where some ants were getting into the weep holes between the bricks on the other side of our house and he suggested that along with the bait that I also use an aspirator (one of those bulb/snot suckers we used for our babies) to suck up some DE and shoot it into each of the weep holes and do a lot of it into the one where the ants are getting into the house. Then he suggested using steel or copper wool to stuff into those holes to discourage the ants from getting in again. It will still allow the house to "breathe", but keeps bugs out.

If you lay the coach 110 volt battery re-charge line on the ground to charge the battery after a trip, or when its stored for winter, try spraying the charge cable with anti-ant stuff, and stuff a rag into the small opening where the line enters the coach. Also, if you have some ant traps, set them around inside, back in the cabinets. Somebody here knows what to use to make anti-ant stuff. I can't remember what it is that is used to make it! And, if ya take away their little carpenters box of tools, you'll be home free! by: Rustyj