Carpenter Ant Treatment for Log and Wood Homes

Carpenter Ants can sometimes be a problem if wood remains moist and wood rot occurs. If they are a problem, treat with Tim-bor or an approved insecticide. Also look for the cause of the moisture and try to eliminate it. Carpenter ants can enter a building by way of vegetation that may touch the building. To help prevent this, trim bushes and trees touching the building and watch for rotting stumps that could have rotting root systems underground near your building. Insects do not have to be a problem in your log home. Design your building to keep moisture away from it so that moist wood does not encourage insect problems. Stain additives such as Bug Juice or NBS 30 and wood treatments also help to deter problems.

Borate Insecticide for Carpenter Ants

Borate treatments like Tim-bor, Armor-Guard or Sansin Boracol are best applied to bare wood, as they soak into the wood and kill insects that ingest it as well as protect against rot-causing fungus.

Tim-Bor® Professional protects your log home from invasions of carpenter ants, drywood termites, wood decay fungi, and wood boring beetles. Tim-Bor Professional’s active ingredient is Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate (DOT), a natural borate mineral salt and micronutrient. It is manufactured for use in the form of a water-soluble borate powder. Once Tim-bor is applied in a liquid form by foaming, misting, or spraying onto wood or other cellulosic materials, the borate active ingredient creates a protective envelope and remains for years of protection. Often, Tim-Bor Professional is dusted into places like wall voids where pests like to hide as an additional protection. When the dust gets on the insects, they clean themselves and consume the boron during the cleaning process. Coverage: 200 sq. ft. per gallon. 5 year shelf life.  

 Armor-Guard is a 100% powder borate wood preservative that you dissolve in water to use. Armor-Guard protects uninfested wood from wood decay and wood destroying insects. Like all borate treatments, your exterior wood surfaces should be protected with a log home finish to seal in the borates. Do not apply Armor-Guard over a stain or finish. Armor-Guard stays near the surface and so should be reapplied if your log home finish is physically or chemically removed. For a more penetrating borate treatment for your log home see Shell-Guard RTU.

Sansin Boracol 20-2 is an inorganic, water-diffusible boron wood treatment that uses boric acid - a natural wood decay inhibitor - to fight fungi and insect infestations. Moisture is an essential ingredient for mold growth, so using a water-borne anti-fungal treatment like Sansin Boracol is particularly effective. The natural moisture of the wood itself carries the boric acid through the wood fibers to saturate and protect any wet areas. With a far wider spectrum of activity than conventional preservatives, it can move deep into timber and even penetrate heartwood. In addition to organic surfaces such as wood, Boracol works to prevent mold on inorganic materials like stone or concrete. Sansin Boracol is effective in preventing and killing dry rot, wet rot, white rot, fungus, or insect attacks. It is recommended for use on roof, floor or structural timbers, joinery, joist ends, brickwork, and door and window framing. Boracol is odorless, non-staining, non-flammable and easy to apply to both new and existing structures 

Stain Additive Insecticides for Carpenter Ants

If there is already a stain or sealer on the log or wood home, then borate insecticides are less of an option. In this situation, it's possible to add insecticide to the finish when adding a new coat of stain or sealer. Bug Juice is one insecticide additive available on the market, and Outlast NBS 30 is an option for a repellent additive.  

Bug Juice Stain Additive is an odorless insecticide designed to eliminate crawling and flying insects ranging from ants to mosquitoes and cockroaches to silverfish. Bug Juice stain additive is a contact pesticide that begins to work after an insect makes contact with the treated finish. Use on interior and exterior surfaces, including kitchens and pantries.

Bug Juice will not affect the color or drying time of the coating it’s mixed with however, it is known to significantly reduce the transparency and gloss of the clear Lifeline Advance Topcoat. The finish mixed with Bug Juice must be used within 3 hours if added to a latex-based (water-based) coating or 6 hours if added to an oil-based coating. For mixing with oil based finishes, Penetrol is recommended. (BugJuice is not recommended for use with ProLuxe (Sikkens) stains and finishes due to a lack of testing). Bug Juice will last for the life of the coating it is mixed with and is EPA registered.

 

Outlast NBS 30 is a "Green" Insect Repellent - Naturally Repels: Carpenter Bees, Ants, Cockroaches, Lady Bugs, Dirt Daubers, Wasps, Spiders, Mosquitoes, and other nuisance insects. 100% Derived from Exempt Plant Oils and Components. Mix with Oil or Latex paints/stains or PLAIN WATER

For Exterior Coatings - Deters and inhibit insects from burrowing through or crawling on exterior coatings and for use in residential applications as well as dairy 

facilities, golf courses, parks, playgrounds, recreational areas, schools, landscape areas, etc. Outlast NBS 30 Additive is effective in controlling crawling and nesting activity on painted or stained surfaces to which it has been added. Ants, cockroaches, beetles, mites, spiders, fleas, ticks, silverfish, dirt daubers, bees and wasps will not crawl on, nest on or burrow through coatings treated with Outlast NBS 30 Additive. Repels nuisance, nesting insects and discourages Carpenter Ants and Bees from drilling and reduces ladybug infestations. Safe for pets and people and will not harm plants (extremely low toxicity). Mixes with oil and water-based paints and stains. Sheen, curing time and luster of the coating may be changed slightly by addition of the additive. Color may be affected very slightly, and would be most noticeable in pure white paint. All natural ingredients. Outlast NBS 30 is NOT an insect killer and is not intended for control of termites or other wood ingesting insects. Sold in pints

Bait Insecticides for Carpenter Ants

 If the wood is not bare for borate application, or no sealer is due to be applied for stain additive insecticides, bait killers are another option. Bait insecticides in the form of granules or gel are often an effective way to eliminate carpenter ants in log homes, as the ants will sense the gel or granule as food and bring it back to share with the colony at the source. Some granules available are Niban and Advance, while Maxforce is a gel form of bait insecticide on the market for protecting log homes and wood homes from damaging insects.

Niban Granule Bait is a weather resistant granule bait for the control of ants and carpenter ants. For both interior and exterior use. Niban’s formula provides broader protection inside and outside the home. Unlike other granules Niban will not degrade in heat or sunlight and will last through 4” of rain.Advance Granule Ant Bait is a larger granule so only the large carpenter ants can manage it. Special attractants and pellet size make this the most effective carpenter ant bait on the market. For use inside and outside the home. Kills Carpenter Ants and many common varieties of household ants such as Acrobat, Argentine, Bigheaded, Crazy, Field, Fire, Harvester, Lasius, Little Black, Pavement, Pharaoh, Odorous House and Thief Ants.

Maxforce Carpenter Ant Bait Gel is the "honeydew" attractant of this sweet gel bait will draw carpenter ants within minutes. For interior use. Makes about 40 placements. 27 gram container.