Customer Reviews for Carpenter Ant Kit #1

I just cannot believe the results, it is AMAZING.... the big black Carpenter ants that have been haunting me in my own home for years every spring for sweets and then every fall for proteins are GONE and it is seriously only the second day since I have put the gel and granular bait out. If you want effective ant bait/killer then this Carpenter Ant Kit #1 is exactly what you need. There are so many different ways to use it from tiny cracks to large areas around the outside or underneath your home. This stuff will do the trick hands down. No need to pay an exterminator high monthly rates, just buy this, go by the instructions and you will be on your way to an ant free life, it is just amazing. THANKS GUYS!!!

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

32 of 36 people found this review helpful

We live in a log home in the woods and have had a problem with Carpenter Ants for at least 2 years. I ordered the Carpenter Ant Kit #1 and my husband sprinkled the granules along the foundation and I put the gel into a spot where we saw the ants most. He put down the granules over 2 weeks ago and we have not seen ONE ant since inside our home. It's like a miracle. We had tried all types of ant repellent and killer without success.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

14 of 15 people found this review helpful

I have been battling some carpenter ants on my porch the last couple years, but only with the generic ant spray one can buy at the local home improvement stores. The ants damaged some exterior wood such that rain water leaks in during a good downpour, and I'd like my porch to be as dry as I can get it. When the weather started to get warmer, I decided to look for something more effective with them that can knock out the colony, thus the ant bait. On a nice day, I put a 1-foot wide border around the porch, as well as my wood pile and a big maple tree in the backyard. Then, I just watched the ants that were scavenging around. They would walk past a couple pieces of bait, but then grab one and haul it back to the porch; the whole process left me smiling! Within a couple days, I would see maybe one or 2 ants on the exterior, but they seemed to be on their way to ant heaven, even the little black ants I just figured would be hanging around anyways. So far, I'm very happy with this product, and haven't gotten around to using the gel bait yet since the dry bait has been so effective. I would definitely buy this kit again!

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

I have had this carpenter ant problem for 3 seasons now and the retail sprays and powders worked only for the moment. I know I needed a bait program to kill off the nest. I finally came across your site and look-you have everything in a kit! I ordered it and the kit was here by the end of the week. It took only a few minutes to set up my traps( I ordered the bait traps too). The instructions say you will have a rush of ants for a few days, (because of the attraction to the sweet bait/gel) and I did! That was good, as lots of bait went back to the nest. Now I see nothing. So happy to have found a product(s) made for specifically for carpenter ants!!

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

I had 3 galleries in my soffits for the last several years and the products from the big box hardware stores just had the ants moving around to avoid the poison. I used the gel first and the ants dove in and started consuming it immediately. I put some on a tree root by an ant trail and it soaked in to the bark. The next day I checked the spot and the ants ate the bait AND the bark that it soaked into. By the 3rd day I could not find an ant anywhere. My neighbor had a worse problem than I and we tried out the granules. I put a 1/4 teaspoonful on an ant trail and in 15 minutes you could see the granules streaming up the front of his house into his soffits and within 2 days we could not find ANY ants.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

We've always had a few carpenter ants in our home each year. No major problem. But this year, the numbers seemed to grow every day. By the time I ordered and put out the bait, we had a lot more than I could count. The night the kit came, I put the bait in strategic spots where I thought they were "traveling" and watched them go right at it! I let them "eat" and didn't kill them, hoping they'd take the poison back to the nest. Next morning....no live ants. Since then (about two weeks)...no live ants. Amazing, complete success! I ordered more to have it ready in case they come back again.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Used this kit last year and still had ant problem. Chose Taurus SC this year instead (it's listed in the menu under "Termites"). I was skeptical, but desperate. With one application of Taurus SC around the perimeter of my house, the ants were gone. Like magic.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

It seems to me for carpenter ants the gel is the way to go. The ants were gobbling the liquid up and the second I sprinkled the granular stuff near by the all stopped. A few picked up pieces and brought it into the nest but 2 minutes later others ants carried it right back out. Also the granular stuff burnt all of the plants I inadvertently sprinkled it on so be careful if you have pricey plants.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Surrounded my foundation with the granules. Placed both liquid and and granular bait throughout house. It has been a month and zero impact. I've noticed zero carpenter ant activity around the traps. The ants have no interest whatsoever in this bait. Given my experience, I must wonder about the legitimacy of the rave reviews I've read here. I've been had...save your money.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

I had a carpenter ant nest in the open beam ceiling of my home. Kept finding drones inside. I used the gel and the bait stations at the nest openings and around the floor where the drones seemed to appear. After 10 days, we were finding even more ants. The nest was still active. I finally sprayed Drione into the nest area, and the ants have finally disappeared. I never saw any ants interested in the bait or gel.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Living here in the woods of Maine in a log cabin. We have experienced the intrusion of carpenter ants for many years. The chemicals available never seem to work as stated in their advertisements. I decided to give the Carpenter Ant Kit a try, and glad I did. Have only used the Advance granules so far, and the ant problem has all but disappeared! All this happened in less than 2 days! We are now in week 3 and I have only seen 3 ants!....AMAZING stuff! I would highly recommend this product!

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

We live on a wooded lot and every spring we see a few "scouts" in our home. Has never been a problem. This year, they kept coming in in droves. Was killing 30-40 ants per evening. Ordered the kit. Put the granules outside around foundation and in the bait stations in a couple places. Used the gel in the bait stations inside. By day 2 there were significantly less ants. Day 3 we left for a week long vacation. Refreshed all the gel baits before leaving. Came home last night and it was like a killing field of dead ants. Haven't seen a live one yet.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

I baited the Carpenter Ants with a wide selection of baits: Sugar water, Peanut butter, Grease, Marshmallow Fluff, crushed insects, & Maple Syrup, just to see what they would take. The only bait they touched was the Maple Syrup, and then only a little. I guess they like the Maple wood flavor :) Then purchased the Carpenter Ant Kit #1 and empty bait stations. I baited their trails with both the jell and the granular baits. Only 1 ant in 10 took any of the granular bait and only 1 ant in 100 feed on the jell bait. I was disappointed with the bait acceptance rate. However, it did the job! After 3 or 4 days the ant activity decreased, eventually stopped, and has not returned.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

I purchased the Carpenter Ant Kit about 2 & 1/2weeks ago and I'm still seeing ants in the kitchen & bathroom. I'm finding plenty of dead ants but it does not seem to have killed the source. I will continue using the product but so far the jury is still out.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Unbelievable! Really! This is the second time I've used this product. Two years ago, we had a ton of carpenter ants in the house and after one treatment with the gel, they were gone. Totally. One day! This time, I saw a lot of activity on the foundation outside our home. I put down one treatment and there are now no carpenter ants. (Not sure which was more effective this time--the gel or the granular material. I used both this time.) Seriously amazing stuff. Highly recommended.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

It turns out that in addition to being picky, carpenter ants aren't too good at finding bait. I started off with the Advance granular bait. There were several ants in my bathroom, so I spread the bait. The ants showed no interest at all (they just walked around it). I tried laying out the Maxforce gel bait in another location (the directions said not to put dissimilar baits in the same place), but the ants never found it. Meanwhile, more and more ants were roaming around like they owned the place (but they were spread all over - loners, never making a trail like other ants do). I figured I just wasted money and time on this kit. Fortunately, I met a professional pest control guy and he gave me some advice. He said all the guys in his office use the gel (not the granular bait) in their own homes. He said you pretty much have to find an ant and place a glob of gel right in front of him so he'll find it. About a week later we found about a dozen ants in one place. I placed several globs of gel about an inch or so from the ants. They found the gel and several surrounded each glob. Later that night the number of ants surrounding the globs increased. All the globs were gone the next morning; carried off by a few dozen ants. Within 3 days we had no more ants! Given my experience with ants just walking around the granular bait and my frustrations with not knowing the proper technique for the gel, I'm giving this product 4 stars. Next time I'll just get the gel and not bother with a "kit" at all.

  Expert response:

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

This stuff works, but I must emphasize patience and persistence. I am using Advanced 375A granules and MaxForce Bait Gel to tackle a potential carpenter ant problem. I've been using the granules and gel for 4 weeks now. When dealing with carpenter ants, you must find their trails and identify potential nests locations (this is where the patience comes in). You need to watch and follow the ants to the find the trails (plan 30 minutes of observation as they can cover a lot of ground; the neighbors might think you're nuts staring at the ground for so long!). In my case, they were entering a crack in the brick and they had 2 trails running from it. Each trail went from the front of the house to the end of the drive way (about 30 yards). I used the gel around the brick and the granules along the trails. Now don't expect every ant to sample the granules and gel. Some checked it out, but most ignored it (at least when I observed them). However, over time, the granules and gel disappeared (carpenter ants are most active at night). This is where the persistence comes in. You need to keep applying granules along the trail. After 2 weeks I noticed a reduction in activity along the trail (from 10 ants along a portion of the trail to 5). Another 2 weeks, and the activity was less (down to 1 or 2). After 4 weeks, I see any occasional ant coming out of the brick or moving along the trail. TIP: Use stakes to mark the trail as well as identify where you are laying down poison. A secondary benefit was the smaller ants loved the granules. The Advanced container states it can be used on smaller ants. I also applied the granules near the entrances that smaller ants made in a front garden. I went back an hour later after application and it was an ant frenzy. The whole colony came topside to get the granules. I did 2 more applications and within 4 days the colony was extinct. I'll update in another 4 wks since 60 days in the life space of carpenter ants.

  Expert response:

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

I laid out some of the granules and a very few were picked up. I also set out the gel and the ants mostly left it alone after checking it out. Another reviewer mentioned cutting up crickets and dipping them in the gel. After no obvious results after 3 days I hand killed 4-8 ants per night for a week and dipped them in the gel. They were always gone in the morning and the number of ants kept dwindling. It seems nothing is more attractive to them than a dead insect carcass. Finally after 10 days all the ants are gone.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Very satisfied, ants established in attic foam insulation, accessing home via phone and cable lines from utility pole. Carpenter ants were instantly attracted to bait and carried it to colony, tipping off their location and entry point. Worked within a couple of days, majority of ant traffic halted in one day. They liked both types of bait in the kit.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

I used as instructed and saw a drop in 1 day and then none in about 4 days. Be patient because they have to find the bait, eat and bring back. When you give them a few days, it works like a charm, if you have a heavy infestation right away, this might take longer than you want. I would see 4-5 per day in the house, then we treated and it was 1-2, and after 5 days, none.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

We had Carpenter Ants overtaking our kitchen.We tried TERRO ant killer with little success for about 2 weeks. After baiting with MAXFORCE JEL they were gone in about a week. The ants paid little attention to the ADVANCE granules. If out problem ever returns I would try the JEL 1st. After all this kit is not cheap but much less than a exterminator. I would give the MAXFORCE a 5 Star.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

We had carpenter ants for a while now and I bought this product after reading all the good reviews and within 3 days ants were gone! It's been about a month and still no ants this product really works great. Also what we did is bought the ant traps from Walmart so we could put this product in there so we didnt have to worry about our cat getting at it.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I used both the outside powder and the inside gel. The ants were drawn to gel instantly and were completely gone in a couple days. I also used the outdoor powder as a barrier around my garden since ants were eating on my okra. Obviously, use it on outside of garden away from veggies.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Honestly, within seconds of putting down the dry bait and the gel, carpenter ants were coming in droves. I even took pictures of it. We used to see about 20 ants a day in our home....not one has been seen since the bait went down. My neighbor told me this morning that he thinks I took care of his ant problem too!! This product works. I've tried the stuff you buy at Lowes/Home Depot...don't waste your money, it never did anything.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

2 weeks after placing both gel and grainular bait in high (ant) traffic areas they are gone! Haven't seen one carpenter ant in places where I normally wouldfind over 20 every day. Thanks

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Only product that actually worked- all ants are gone for good!

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Maxforce worked the best for my application. I could see about 6 or 7 ants crawling around a certain area, so I put some in where I could see them. With in 10 minutes of putting this stuff out I had about 40 Carpenter ants attacking this bait. It was amazing to watch. This stuff worked great. Be patient it will take about 10-12 days before ALL the Carpenter ants will be dead.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I used the carpenter ant kit per the instructions and within 15mins the ants were hauling the sugarbait back to the nest.to my suprise sugar ants were hauling the protein bait away.two days later i followed up wih demand CS.dead ants everywhere. Havent seen one in 3 weeks.good stuff.i fact i havent seen any bugs.highly recommend the kit.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I was also skeptical about another hyped product, but this was THE final solution to our problem. We had an ant infestation in our ground floor condo for over a year - first it was small ants, then the nasty flying carpenter ants EVERYWHERE. Tried the liquid bait traps, signed up for a big-name exterminator service, did I lots of sealing & patching. All of these slowed them down, but they always found a way to come back. Finally came across this in a google search and was ready to try anything including burning the place down & rebuilding! Luckily no need. The exterminator showed me the main colony outside our condo, and then I finally discovered the entry point under a kitchen cabinet. Followed them directions on both products to the letter. Sprinkled Advance granules on the colony and they immediately went for it like a miracle. Next day the colony was GONE! Put a few drops on cut up straws to feed through the hole under the cabinet & same thing: went from 12-15 ants a day to ZERO. Made sure to plug the hole with Great Stuff and we're ant free 2 months now. Can't promise it'll work for everyone or that they may not do a sequel, but we've got our sanity back and I'm ready if they ever do.

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I just purchased this product last week and it has exceeded my expectations. I just purchased a cabin and kept coming home to find sawdust like piles on the floor. I first wasted money by going to Lowes and getting spray. After spending money and finding more piles on the floor the frustration grew! I didn't want to call an exterminator and be locked in to quarterly visits and high prices. I googled the issue and found out I had carpenter ants... I found this product and I ordered it last week. I ended up using it this past Sunday for the first time. Within 5-7 minutes I had 25-30 ants eating the maxforce bait. Tuesday morning I went back to the house and found the floor COVERED in dead black ants! This product did the trick! I am so thrilled by the results that I will continue to use DoMyOwnPestControl for all of my pest needs!

Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo

1 of 1 people found this review helpful