Termite and Wood Boring Insects - Chemicals to use?

Hi All, every spring we get carpenter ants coming into the house. We've hired a pest control company each year to take care of the problem and have had good results. But, they charge over $350 to do the job. I'm hoping to save a little money this time around and do it myself. When I spoke with the guy last year, he said they use a chemical very similiar to Frontline, which is also used to control fleas on pets. Is this chemical available for consumers to purchase? Or, are there more effective chemicals to use? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Carpenter ants set up satellite colonies. You need to inspect your landscape for colonies and treat them. A regular perimeter treatment of structure is also recommended. Make sure there are no moisture issues around structure and that soil slopes away to carry away excess moisture. Crawl space and/or basement should be dry. For additional discussion re: carpenter ants, go to http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=296976 Note: not all chemicals are available in all areas.

The chemical you are looking for is Imidicloprid and is widely available in home garden chemical such as Merit and many other Bayor products.

The most effective treatment is to go out at dusk and trail the ants back to their nest and then destroy the nest with any pyrethroid aerosol.

There may be as many as twenty or so satellites

Any void will be a prospect for nests but they are extremely fond of moist wood.
We used to take a length of garden hose and smack the sides of suspect trees and nest sites, they hate the vibrations

One other field trick
If when you disturb the nest and they instinctually go away from your house, that is not the colony that is affecting your house. Kill them all but keep looking