Ants, and getting rid of them
How to prevent ants from invading your lumber pile. August 10, 2000
Q.
Just went out to my very small drying pile that had a few alder boards tossed on it, leftovers from some recent sawing. When I turned the boards over I found thousands of ants running around.
The pile is sitting 12 inches off the ground. What is the best way to get rid of the ants, and what do I do to keep them from coming back?
A.
Call your local county extension office to find out what insecticide you can use. Ants use the wood for a home, and do not eat and digest wood. If you move the wood, they will be gone.
They do not like dry wood; it is too hard to chew and add a new room onto their home. Sevin is the traditional insecticide for soil and plant application.
Gene Wengert, forum moderator
Try Weed & Feed. My dad used to burn alder in our basement woodstove and used to get ants in the wood pile. He was told to try garden Weed & Feed, and it seemed to work. (I didn't see anymore ants.)
What kind of ants? Big black ones (carpenter ants) or smaller red-headed ones?
I live in Roy, Washington, and I get both around my wood. The black ones will eat into your wood but the redheads will bite you. Not a sting, just a bite. Still hurts though. I spray Dursban around my wood and sticker-stack it, and this seems to help.
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