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cabinnewbie
Member
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# Posted: 5 Aug 2023 07:11pm - Edited by: cabinnewbie
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Hmm, so I'm in year 2 of cabin building. I can finally see the finish line and excited to be done and actually enjoy living inside my cabin.
But, now I'm worried.
It's on 6 concrete piers. I have polyiso and eps insulation installed on the exterior of my walls and roof. Finishing the fourth wall now.
But I started noticing just a few ants inside the cabin. Haven't seen any mice or ants up to now. I did some research. Seems like ants love foam insulation?
Weird because I had a bunch of insulation outside only covered on top through the winter and they were completely fine.
Currently the insulation is exposed besides the metal roof/siding over it, I was just going to put a metal rain screen mesh to block rodents but never thought I'd have to worry about ants.
Some people seem to indicate they seal their insulation with wood? Should I be worried?
COuld i spray something on my concrete piers to repel the ants?
I'm in new england by the way.
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 5 Aug 2023 07:20pm
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TERRO ant bait. I use it, it works very well.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 5 Aug 2023 07:38pm
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Also Drione too.
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travellerw
Member
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# Posted: 5 Aug 2023 08:38pm
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I will second Terro... However, you can't skimp, buy a bunch and put them everywhere. It works.
p.s. if you are cheap, its basically boric acid with an attractant. There are recipes online, but I don't know how well they work. I just buy the Terro stuff because it works.
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Steve_S
Member
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# Posted: 6 Aug 2023 05:09am
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Also vote on TERRO as the GoTo product that works.
If you have a Hand Sprayer (garden pump type) you can also dissolve powdered Borax (Mule Team) in hot water and then spray it around your cabin. Borax is neutral & enviro friendly and is one of the active ingredients in Terro & other big name ant killers.
https://todayshomeowner.com/pest-control/guides/how-to-kill-ants-with-borax/#:~:text= Mix%201%20cup%20of%20water,a%20paste%20when%20it%20cools.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 6 Aug 2023 07:43am
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I had a small sail boat that they completely ate the interior foam on. So yes they will eat it. There are sprays you can get at big box stores to spray around your house. I have used it on piles of lumber and it kills the whole colony. This was all big carpenter ants.
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cabinnewbie
Member
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# Posted: 6 Aug 2023 08:54am
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Thanks for the info, seems like the consensus is use ant bait to kill the colony. Hopefully find outdoor suitable ones to also avoid them eating my exterior foam.
Sounds like enclosing the foam is less worthwhile.
One thing i can't find though is how frequent i'd have to do this? I plan to be away for months at a time and so hopefully could just lay a trap in the spring/summer and call it a day?
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travellerw
Member
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# Posted: 6 Aug 2023 11:37am
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I put traps out in the early spring, then again in late summer.. Repeat each year. You won't have anymore ants.
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 6 Aug 2023 12:12pm - Edited by: DaveBell
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Quoting: cabinnewbie how frequent i'd have to do this?
I captured one group in the family room and one group in the kitchen, been ant free for years now.
The Terro instructions say once a path of ants is seen, open each trap and place near the ant path. The ants smell the bait, crawl inside, eat the bait and die. So you can see them inside the clear trap. I put about four out, two on either side of the path. Boxes contain 4, 6, or 12 traps. Go to the Terro website and look at their products. They have granules and dust that you could put around your piers. I would put something over the the granules to prevent rain from washing it away. Like a plastic trash bag with a few rocks on top. So you have capture and repel solutions.
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travellerw
Member
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# Posted: 6 Aug 2023 04:20pm
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Quoting: DaveBell So you can see them inside the clear trap. I put about four out, two on either side of the path.
Those are just the initial kills. But most eat it, take it back to the nest and then barf it up for the other ants and the queen. Wiping out the whole hill. Thats why the baits are so excellent.
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 6 Aug 2023 06:14pm
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Dont think there is anything you can sensibly 'enclose' the foam with that ants wont find a way into.
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 6 Aug 2023 08:43pm
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Quoting: travellerw But most eat it, take it back to the nest and then barf it up for the other ants and the queen. Wiping out the whole hill.
I read that but when I saw the dead ones, I didn't know if they could make it back.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 6 Aug 2023 08:59pm
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Quoting: cabinnewbie Hopefully find outdoor suitable ones to also avoid them eating my exterior foam
The spray I'm talking about is exterior. You spray around the exterior of the building in a line and keeps them away or kills them.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 9 Aug 2023 03:22pm
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Drione!
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