Carpenter Ants and other Vermin

[JohnyMac]

 As most of you know my family built a cabin in the boonies of NE PA. last fall.

This past summer we started to see a lot of carpenter ants- put out bait traps and sprayed which seemed to help, for a short time.

well in August we started to see piles of saw dust in the SW corner of the cabin first floor. I suggested to my brother that we needed to get an exterminator and he poo-pooed the idea. No finger pointing as I agreed with him at the time.

Well while at the cabin this past Labor Day weekend we noticed that the piled of sawdust had grown from an inch or so to INCHES! I called three exterminators and decided on one and made an appointment.

I chose the one we went with due to:
> Price- We didn't pick the cheapest but we didn't pick the highest either
> Knowledge- The knowledge of the folks I spoke at the different companies ranged from poor to very knowledgable
> Follow up- An old JohnyMac trick is to get someone on the phone explain in brief of what you need and then say, "Oh I am late
   for a meeting and have to leave. Can you call me on my cell phone in 15 minutes and we can chat while I drive to the meeting. 
   Well two called back and one didn't. Man I am a devious son of a bitch. 
> Last, who offered a realistic monthly / seasonal program.

Well my exterminator came yesterday and let me tell you he even cringed when the ants in 100's started coming out of the pine logs in the SW corner of the cabin. Soon as I get done typing I will be firing up the generator to vacuum up the dead bodies.

Anyhow, here is my question:

Does anybody have a cure for carpenter ants or termites? In WROL I doubt my exterminator will be around to do 1/4ly maintenance. What did the old times do? 

Thanks for any help.

[WhiskeyJack]

Um i havnt used this myself but my grandfather used to say "If ya got an ant problem mix a 50-50 mix of Borax and watter and place it in shallow lids or tins and place em around the inside and outside of the house" he said that the chemicals attract the ants and the soap kills em. I would check it out though cuz Borax may have changed their recipt for that cleaner due to EPA or some such shit. but you can always try it out. Let me know how it works for ya.

[JohnyMac]

Thx WhiskeyJack for your suggestion.

When we lived in FL. on the sailboat we got roaches. I at first was agast because my wife and i were pretty clean. What at the bar in the marina a fellow cruiser told me that, "Hey you are in the tropics and you will get roaches." He told me to spread boric acid around where food and plates were. He said that, "Boric acid wwas benign to humans but when a roach walked through the powder they inhaled it and suffocated.  Well it worked!

While the exterminator was at the cabin he asked to see what we were staining / sealing the cabin with and I showed him. He approved because boric acid was mixed into the coating. Guess what? We have stained the whole cabin but the SW corner. We will be doing it within the next few weeks before winter settles in.

It looks like your grandfather was right on! 

I guess we should all think about laying in some boric acid with our preps.

[WhiskeyJack]

I couldnt agree more JMc.  [URL=http://www.smileyvault.co