Why are ants climbing my chimney?

[JHZR2]

Inside chimney run, second story of my large standalone garage. Went up to do something after work and saw this.

They seem to be moving larvae. I’m used to ants this size moving a million little white eggs when I pull up rocks, but this is 18-20 feet up Im guessing, and they’re climbing upwards, towards the roof. If there’s a gap, I goes they’re on the roof. If not, it’s a super hot place to be when the sun is beating. If they get out the only option is the roof or back down the chimney.

No signs of them or any other bugs anywhere else.

What are they doing? I’m guessing killing the white things is the best bet?

My only real concern is if they were carpenter ants. I don’t think they’re termites.

What to do?? It is a completely unfinished space that isn’t well sealed. No food ever anywhere. Doesn’t mean I want a million bugs. But these aren’t seemingly hurting anything.

 

[The Critic]

Exterior Perimeter treatment with Termidor SC in accordance with your state guidelines will be your best solution.

 

[cptbarkey]

Hmm, are they going all the way up, or somehow they found the most efficient path back down again. I would check both sides of the wall.

 

[dnewton3]

There's only two reasons for them to be there; food and shelter. Neither is a good thing for you.
Use some deltamethrin or cypermethrin and get rid of them.

 

[The Critic]

There's only two reasons for them to be there; food and shelter. Neither is a good thing for you.
Use some deltamethrin or cypermethrin and get rid of them.

Using a repellent is not the ideal way of attacking an active ant infestation. You want to utilize the transfer effect of a non-repellent.

 

[slo town]

I hate to say it, but those look like carpenter ants to me.

Scott

 

[dnewton3]

Using a repellent is not the ideal way of attacking an active ant infestation. You want to utilize the transfer effect of a non-repellent.

Deltamethrin and cypermethrin are not "repellents". They are insecticides; they are intended to kill the infestation via feeding and/or direct contact.

 

[The Critic]

Deltamethrin and cypermethrin are not "repellents". They are insecticides; they are intended to kill the infestation via feeding and/or direct contact.

Both of those AI's are Group 3A in IRAC which is considered a pyrethroid.

Pyrethroids are known as repellents.

https://irac-online.org/documents/moa-classification/
https://www.syngentapmp.com/articles/newsarticle.aspx?paid=211892

 

[VersysVsWhat]

"Why are ants climbing my chimney?"

Trying to get to ant heaven I reckon.

More seriously, don't know. We had to use those ant traps/bait stuff recently at our place. Seemed to work. Takes awhile though (about a week to two weeks depending). You can make your own by making a solution of water+sugar+borax and soaking some cotton balls in same and placing them around different areas of the house. I've done that method two times. The first time it worked pretty well. The second time less so, so resorted to buying some stuff online (this was the recent event mentioned at the beginning).

Maybe the second time it didn't work so well because I used coconut sugar (only thing on hand at the time), and it was too highfalutin for them? (These are backcountry redneck ants who like their sugar straight, "normal", and ultra refined?).

 

[MasterSolenoid]

I'm always worried about carpenter ants.
So, anything I buy is specifically for them.

Around the house and shed, I use an ant killer and create a 3–5-foot barrier.
Around the back fence and pine trees, I use the bait that the ants take back to the nest.

 

[Kestas]

When I redid my roof, I found a whole nest of ants in my chimney cricket. During tear-off, they scattered trying to save their young and their eggs. The cricket needed to be rebuilt from the dampness.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

The cricket needed to be rebuilt from the dampness.

A pest control guy I once called for ants like that told me the ants like that are looking for shelter with moisture. You may have wet wood somewhere in addition to ants.

 

[spasm3]

Exterior Perimeter treatment with Termidor SC in accordance with your state guidelines will be your best solution.

This.

I would examine the chimney an if you need a ladder , watch where they are going. See where they are entering. Watch a bit and learn their trail. I'd check the roof and the attic interior spaces for wet wood, or compromised flashing. Once you know where they are going , and coming from, I'd treat with Termidor, or the generic Taurus SC which is a fipronil based product. Exterior perimeter and paths and cracks in the mortar.

Don't mix it stronger than the directions, you do not want a fast kill. The ants cannot detect or sense the fipronil but they will carry it back to the nest, the nest they are moving from and the nest they are inhabiting. The slow kill means you get the whole colony.

Wait a few weeks after treatment, and if you don't see anymore ants, then address the openings you found in the chimney masonry ,or roof or with flashing issues. Wood can be treated with Boracare to prevent future ant damage, just wait till it dries out if you make repairs.

 

[SumGuy]

Its my impression that carpenter ants like to be in wood that is exposed to the weather, specifically rain or humidity, wood that is otherwise not ever water logged or rotting. IE not bone dry, like the inside walls of a house.

 

[facility1]

salt and baking soda in a spray bottle mixed strong , spray chimminy at base and surrounding area .

 

[burbguy82]

......to answer your question and not side track too much about killing strategies and technicalities .....looks like they are transporting something like larvae for reason maybe only an ant would understand.

 

[dnewton3]

Both of those AI's are Group 3A in IRAC which is considered a pyrethroid.

Pyrethroids are known as repellents.

https://irac-online.org/documents/moa-classification/
https://www.syngentapmp.com/articles/newsarticle.aspx?paid=211892

I stand corrected. My apologies.

However, they are intended to disrupt the central nervous system and ultimately result in the demise of the insect. And they are generally referred to as "insecticides", are they not? ("-cide" resulting in death ...)

I've used deltamethrin in liquid concentrate, cypermethrin in dust powder, both to kill colonies and infestations of ants, termites, stink bugs, etc. Regardless of the proper terminology, the pyrethroids are intended to kill the insect, no?

 

[doitmyself]

I stand corrected. My apologies.

However, they are intended to disrupt the central nervous system and ultimately result in the demise of the insect. And they are generally referred to as "insecticides", are they not? ("-cide" resulting in death ...)

I've used deltamethrin in liquid concentrate, cypermethrin in dust powder, both to kill colonies and infestations of ants, termites, stink bugs, etc. Regardless of the proper terminology, the pyrethroids are intended to kill the insect, no?

This simply seems to be an example of semantics. Pyrethroids/pyrethrins are a repellent type insecticide. They are not just a repellent. They are not just an insecticide. They both kill AND repel insects. It would be dangerous to consider these as only repellents (Critics second link) and not consider their nerve action (Critics first link-Mode of Action). His point is that this type of insecticide might repel survivors away from product exposure and they might continue to live elsewhere in the structure (instead of walking through it and getting a lethal dose).

On the other hand, there are "pesticide" type products that are only labeled as repellents. The very effective deer product I use Trico Pro is classified as a repellent only. It is made from sheep fat and has no pesticide "kill" activity. https://www.kwizda-us.com/pimcore-p...t/03_downloads/Trico_MSU_Research_Update_.pdf

 

[JHZR2]

I hate to say it, but those look like carpenter ants to me.

Scott

View attachment 284562

Perhaps. They’re just so much smaller than any carpenter ants I’ve ever seen or dealt with in the past.

This.

I would examine the chimney an if you need a ladder , watch where they are going. See where they are entering. Watch a bit and learn their trail. I'd check the roof and the attic interior spaces for wet wood, or compromised flashing. Once you know where they are going , and coming from, I'd treat with Termidor, or the generic Taurus SC which is a fipronil based product. Exterior perimeter and paths and cracks in the mortar.

Don't mix it stronger than the directions, you do not want a fast kill. The ants cannot detect or sense the fipronil but they will carry it back to the nest, the nest they are moving from and the nest they are inhabiting. The slow kill means you get the whole colony.

Wait a few weeks after treatment, and if you don't see anymore ants, then address the openings you found in the chimney masonry ,or roof or with flashing issues. Wood can be treated with Boracare to prevent future ant damage, just wait till it dries out if you make repairs.

So I did that a bit, at the top.

They actually go up to a point and then go into the brick. Past that point they aren’t visible.

I thought for a second that maybe a small leak (I don’t have one that I know of) would make damp wood near the chimney at the roof. But this doesn’t seem to be the case.

I can’t actually find where they start lower down. I can see them on the brick in the loft, but not the brick exposed below stairs.

......to answer your question and not side track too much about killing strategies and technicalities .....looks like they are transporting something like larvae for reason maybe only an ant would understand.

Indeed. They even hid a larvae in a pore in the brick.

Exterior Perimeter treatment with Termidor SC in accordance with your state guidelines will be your best solution.

I have no indications of any bugs coming in around the perimeter. That may be a bit short sighted, but keep in mind this chimney is in the center of the building, not to the exterior, and I have no signs of any bugs coming around on the ezteriro

All the same, I got termidor as recommended.

 

[spasm3]

Perhaps. They’re just so much smaller than any carpenter ants I’ve ever seen or dealt with in the past.


So I did that a bit, at the top.

They actually go up to a point and then go into the brick. Past that point they aren’t visible.

I thought for a second that maybe a small leak (I don’t have one that I know of) would make damp wood near the chimney at the roof. But this doesn’t seem to be the case.

I can’t actually find where they start lower down. I can see them on the brick in the loft, but not the brick exposed below stairs.


Indeed. They even hid a larvae in a pore in the brick.

View attachment 284881

I have no indications of any bugs coming in around the perimeter. That may be a bit short sighted, but keep in mind this chimney is in the center of the building, not to the exterior, and I have no signs of any bugs coming around on the ezteriro

All the same, I got termidor as recommended.

Termidor is not for interior living space use. I thought the pics were of an exterior view of the chimney.