This Old House Carpenter Ants and Ground Freeze

In the list of things I didn't know I can now scratch off carpenter ants.  IMHO they are horrid, voracious expensive little so and sos.  For any southerners reading this post we do not have termites up here and I guess it gave me a false sense of security.  Last year (2008) I had the garage and front porch roofs replaced and found out just how expensive these critters can be.Well, their damage continues.


In spite of having had the property sprayed for the ants they managed to come back and were happily dining on the front porch header board.  That metal pipe that is on an angle was all that was supporting this end of the deck, the wooden supports and jacks were added last fall when Lenny found the supports all gone bad.

From the time the contractor called me until I got home with ant spray (highly toxic, and yes I am against the stuff)  they had relocated almost all their future generations. I don't know where to, but it better be far far away.

We are now in "lock down" mode and on a mission.  No large carpenter ant is safe from me now.  The porch was so damaged that it would have collapsed by next year. As it was I had a three inch drop front to back.

We also found that construction in the early 1900's didn't require concrete pilings to protect from ground freeze so the contractor found two metal pipes embedded in the ground that had just about broken through due to ground freeze and wear and tear.

With building permit in hand, Lenny is rebuilding the porch; columns, railings, supports and all to code.  Check back for an update.