So this is a fun one... I'm working on - okay, reconstructing - my house and it is just about down to the studs... we've discovered carpenter ants - lots of them - eating big holes in the side of the house (it's a wood frame house) all the way to the shingles... we set out Terro traps, about 3 weeks ago, but yesterday, I saw quite a few walking around during the day and they were no where near the bait... my question is this: what do I do and in what order do I do it? Do I replace the damaged wood, then call the exterminator, or call first, replace and then call again, just to be safe? Too, it looks like they are all over the backyard - in the wood fence posts and in a neighbor's tree, what do I do about this? Help please!!!! Thank you.

I'm certainly not a pro exterminator, but I can buy most of their chemicals and get good information at www.bugspray.com . They have an excellent article on carpenter ants and some things you can buy that might be better than what you can get at the grocery store. Give them a try, I think you will go back to deal with any other pests that crop up.