Not sure if you are talking about carpenter ants but if you are they do not eat wood. They tunnel through the wood to get their food. They will eat termites so if you think they are carpenter ants you should check for termites.

other black ants often are just "looking around" your house for food. If the wood is moist try to dry it out by grading your lawn away from your house or looking for areas where water enters the walls or basement (window sills?)

Also move all wood (piles of debris or building materials) away from the house. If there are any rotted trees near the house I would have them removed. The ants could have a hideout there and just run to your house to look for food.

if you find out why they are there (rotted wood, searching for food or termites even) then you will be able to get rid of them.

Also, I once spent a couple days redoing my landscaping once and ended by putting in nice new wood mulch. After a day the mulch was crawling w/ carpenter ants. I removed all the mulch and replaced it with landscaping rocks (I picked red-lava rocks that look like cedar mulch almost) and the ants left. If you have any wood mulch I would remove that from any landscaping near your house.

-rj

are these white legged ants?We have ants here in hillsbough county,fla.that are killing trees.My neighbor has lost 13 trees on her lot.I have also lost that many on 3 acres.I have been spraying with carpenter and termite killer to try to control these for over 2 years.They have also been eating pressure treated wood.We no longer have carpenter or the red ants on our land.We need to have something done before no more trees will exist.

Ants eat either sugar or grease, and borax kills insects.

So go to Walmart and buy a box of 20 Mule Team Borax. Mix a bit of it with sugar, and mix another bit of it with grease, and leave them out in separate bowls near your foundation where animals can't get to it, such as inside the holes of a concrete block with a brick over the top. Once the ants find it they will carry it back to the nest and wipe out the colony.

THANK YOU HAPPYDAY!, UR Brilliant!!