Ants! Ants from hell!

[anne]

Hello. I have not posted here in years and years, but knew you guys were my best resource right now....

I live in Northern CA, and have an Arctic Spa. (So a tub with an wood cabinet, and insulation in the walls/floor, but open plumbing)....  I have always had a lot of ants in the back yard, around huge oak trees, and they have stayed away from the house and patio and tub, so I have left them alone. My yard is a mess of happy bugs and spiders birds, and I am generally fine with cohabitation. I have had this tub for so many years without problems that I got negligent about notincing a "few" ants around ground by the tub earlier this spring, and now my redwood cabinet and foam insulation are LITERALLY INFESTED with ants LIVING in the box. The are big ants, some are winged, and they are ants, not termites.

I have put out bait traps, I keep wiping the lid and top of tub with bleach water, and I just doused the inside of the cabinet with ant powder, but I fear they will not be deterred by such methods.

Any advice???

Thanks!
-Anne

[Ripper238]

Sounds like you have carpenter ants. Not good for a wood tub. 

See if the suff you used worked, if not step up your game with something stronger.

[anne]

Thanks! Yes, I do think Carpenter ants as well. I may have panicked too quickly- While the standard ant bait did not seem to be working after a couple of days, after adding more bait and the powder inside the cabinet, and bleach on the outside, they seem.......gone. Perhaps it took a bit of time for them to carry it all home.  I wonder if new eggs hatch how long it will be to see new adults.......

Still interested if anyone has any tips, but I may be ok now.