Question: help, we have a live carpenter ant colony under our house, along
with powder post beetles, and I believe we also have indian meal moths!
What should we do? Can these things be treated for? Someone told me that
the powder post beetles were unable to be destroyed by any topical
treatment, is this true. I need help reclaiming our home from these
disgusting bugs!!!!!
ANSWER There are several species of carpenter ants across the U.S. Most are large black ants, but some are red and some are red and black. Most of the species produce swarms (winged males and female ants) in the spring. These ants feed on other insects and honeydew from aphids on plants and trees.
Carpenter ants nest in wood, but do not eat the wood. If there is moisture-damaged wood, the carpenter ants will choose it over dry, sound wood. It is common to find carpenter ants in areas where there has been a moisture problem, such as in the bathroom where the tub or shower are not draining properly (or have overflowed and wet the wood), or a porch that is holding moisture, a roof leak, a door frame that gets wet from rain, a downspout or gutter that is not working.
These ants make a nest outside, then forage inside for food or water. If they find food, they often start a satellite nest indoors near the food source. It is common to see these ants moving in lines between the nest outside, the satellite nest, and the food source. They are active mostly at night.
The best control for carpenter ants is to locate the nest. A thorough inspection of the house for moisture damaged wood is part of the process. Correcting the moisture problem is the first step. The ant nest can be removed or sprayed. (Follow the label directions for the insecticide.)
Baits are best when the nest can not be located. Liquid baits are preferred by ants, but most baits will work if you locate them near the trail of foraging ants. Baiting takes time, but it will get to the queen in the colony and that is best approach. Killing the worker ants with sprays is not effective.
Indian meal moths. The adult moth is brown and tan colored, and the caterpillars can range from green to pink. The caterpillars may appear to be maggots because of their crawling habit and their pale color; and many people think they have a maggot problem when they first encounter Indian meal moth caterpillars.
The caterpillars of these moths infest stored food materials, such as flour, meal, mixes, cereal, spices, birdseed, dry pet food, dry flowers, and other similar material. You can identify the infested material by the webbing over the surface. The caterpillars often move out and crawl on walls and the ceiling when they are full grown.
The adult moths live for about three weeks, and can persist after the caterpillars have been controlled.
The best control method is to remove and inspect all food packages from the cabinets and pantry. Discard what is infested; then vacuum the area very well. After vacuuming, replace the material, and vacuum again in about a week.
There are some commercial pheromone (scent) traps for these moths. They act by attracting the male moths to a scent of the female.Control is achieved by removing the males and preventing females from mating and reproducing. You might find these traps at the local home or hardware store or maybe the garden center.
The term "powderpost beetles" may refer to several different kinds of wood-infesting insects. The term is used for beetles that only infest hardwoods (such as flooring, trim, or even ornamental pieces), or for beetles that only infest softwoods (such as wall framing and support joists), or for beetles that infest both hardwoods and softwoods. I'm guessing that you have Anobiid powderpost beetles. Control is really not difficult and accomplished every day.
Damage: The damage produced by these beetles may be small round holes (about the size of pencil lead), or large oval holes in the wood surface. The first signs of an infestation (past or present) is usually a small amount of sawdust or powder (called frass) in or around a piece of furniture, drawer, or cabinet. If the powder is a little gritty when rubbed between your fingers, then it is anobiid beetle damage; if the frass is soft and not gritty, then it is lyctid beetle damage; if there is frass next to an oval hole in softwood (pine, spruce, fir), then the damage is from the cerambycid, the old house borer.
Lyctid Powderpost Beetles (Family: Lyctidae). The damage from these small (1/8 inch) beetles may be found in various places in the house, such as kitchen cabinets, baseboard trim, hardwood flooring (all hardwoods), and in ornamental pieces of wood such as picture frames. They infest only hardwoods, and generally infest only new wood, usually less than 5 years old. They can re-infest, but this is not always the case. The life cycle takes 1-2 years.
Anobiid Powderpost Beetles (Family: Anobiidae). The damage from these small (1/8 inch) beetles may be found in floor joists in crawl spaces of houses, sometimes in attic joists and wall studs. They infest primarily softwood, but will also attack hardwoods. Their life cycle is 1-2 years and they will continually re-infest structural wood, sometimes causing structural damage.
Cerambycid or Old House Borer (Family: Cerambycidae). The old house borer is one of the wood borers that feed only on softwood. The feeding of the larval stages of this beetle can be heard, the sound is a scraping noise. These beetles infest structural wood, such as floor and attic joists, wall studs, and shelving. The life cycle extends form 3 to 7 years normally, but can extend to more than 10 years. They will re-infest wood, and may cause structural damage.
Control of these beetles depends on first determining that there is an active infestation. The holes and the powder (called frass) that falls from the holes may exist for many years, but is NOT an indication that there are beetles alive in the wood at this time. If the infestation is active (= recent holes or the sound of feeding is heard), then the infestation may be treated. Treatment sometimes includes removing infested wood and replacing it. However, treatment may include the application of liquid insecticide to the surface of the infested wood; or the injection of liquid below the surface, into the feeding galleries or tunnel; or the tenting and fumigation of the entire structure (for only severe infestations). The insecticides used for control will provide control by killing the larval stage inside the wood.
