Re: Pileated Woodpeckers
> AtI've had first-hand experience with carpenter ants in the carriage house of
> my old 1845 home and I can tell you for certain that they are black, not
> brown,
> and are quite large (the workers). The do have a sweet tooth and I used a
> home-made mix of say a teaspoon of borax to two cups granulated sugar or
> Karo syrup finely mixed and they seemed to feed on it steadily and die. I
> also
> used Taro and they were certainly reduced significantly, indicating that a
> long term project might be effective. I haven't torn into the area above the
> roof, where I first spotted them, to check if they are eliminated, so can't
> say it is totally effective. I'm sure exterminators will give you another
> story,
> and they may be right, but I am skeptical of their motives. Good luck.
Darrel - I'll try that, along with what my husband is going to do. We
both are a bit skeptical of the professionals, as well, but know that
sometimes you HAVE to go to them. These ants are in two slightly
different sizes--I'm sure the workers are the ones almost 1/2 inch
long. The ant baits they are supposed to take back to their nest did
seem to cut down on them, so I guess I'll repeat those, too. Didn't
seem to affect the woodpeckers, which was a BIG worry to me, but maybe
the woodpeckers are eating from our feeder now (other types have before
but NEVER the Pileateds) because we have eliminated a lot of the
carpenter ants, which are a staple for them. It's very hard to guess
what the "ripple effect" will be. HATE poisons, and the Borax seems to
be a lesser evil, but will use both because of the high stakes!
Thanks again, everyone, Betsy
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