This time of year is protein collection for carpenters, so go with that type of bait. I had a massive nest in the post on my front porch, the scouts were popping up on my work desk.
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The exterminator hit them with straight permethrin then dusted for those out of the nest. We dig till we found the queen and made sure she was dead to solidify the colony’s kill.
Carpenters are sneaky bastards and will do their best to avoid you. If you see one, you are missing all the rest. Look around your property for sawdust piles. They clear out the soft wood between the growth rings for their galleries.
once you find the nest go scratched earth on them.. if you disturb the nest and not kill it, they’ll leave and find a new place. Established colonies will form satellite nests of workers as a midpoint for the movement of food to the main colony.
also go around your house to find any vegetation leaning against it and clear it off. Then get a perimeter spray/dust to catch them as they return to the colony to poison the rest.
Honestly I tried baits, baits mixed with cat food/tuna... nothing took them out shy of tearing the colony up and killing them all.
here’s a vid of the assholes.