S.C., Lexington

A. Keep plugging the holes, and don't even think about success until you put a door on the place. Squirrels are wiley critters, and have found a home in your barn, and even if you do plug all the holes, they will try to come back, claiming squatters' rights. Every hole must be filled, and filled sturdily, with new wood; new wood is much tougher to gnaw on than damp, punky wood.

In the attic, consider building a squirrel-proof room for storage or any other use within the attic. Put windows in it and you will have light and ventilation.

Q. Help! My kitchen is indundated by moths. They are very small, but I see 10 to 12 of them in the evenings. How can I get rid of them? Are they doing any harm?

L.G., Braintree

A. They sound like pantry moths, often called pantry pests. They are really pests, because the moths were larvae before they became moths, and the larvae are the ones that eat all your cereals, grains, and other food stored in the kitchen. If the larvae are doing that, they are harmful. And, the adult moths will produce more larvae. If you don't have any contaminated food, you may have lucked out and have only moths, but that is unlikely.

Sweep up the moths and throw them away. If you discover any food contaminated and eaten by the larvae, your work is cut out for you; you have to eliminate all containers with contaminated food and and clean all storage places: Wash storage areas with bleach and water or a good disinfectant to kill the larvae. Repeat within two weeks because some moths have several broods, one of which might escape the disinfecting. It is a matter of front line maintenence and housekeeping that will get rid of them. You might also have to store cereals, grains, and other edibles in airtight containers. Insecticides should not be used indoors, especially where food is stored. When using bleach, wear skin and eye protection.

Q. I'm inundated by small black ants. I am not getting them now, but usually in the summer. I see two or three at a time. I have used Ortho spray, but they keep coming back.

R.H., Hingham

A. Two or three at a time are hardly an inundation; it is not even an infestation. I know some people who would love to have as few as two or three. And don't use insacticide indoors; it accomplishes little but is as hard on human beings as it allegedly is on bugs. Sweep them up and throw them away. Ant cups will help deter the critters. Put the cups in cabinets (except where food is stored) and under the sink and other places where they might run.

Q. I bought a house in Tewksbury that was treated for termites seven years ago. Are there any home remedies for termites, like mothballs? The house has a poured concrete foundation with one small crack.

DENNIS MAFFIO, Malden

A. There is no home remedy for termites. If there is no sign of termites now, you know that the treatment worked. Actually, there will be few signs of termites anyway, because the critters work in the wood and eat it, then go to their nests in the ground, all out of sight.

The only home remedy for termites is eternal vigilance. Make an inspection of the house once or twice a year. Poke a screwdriver in exposed wood in the basement. If the screwdriver goes into the wood, it is decayed and/or eaten by termites. Check for little mud tunnels on the foundation, mainly outside. These mud tunnels are the roads the termites make to get in and out of the house.

If you discover damaged wood or the mud tunnels, call the exterminator.

Q. My house in Orleans was built in 1980, with white cedar shingles and red cedar trim, including the corner boards. The shingles are OK, but the trim is being attacked by carpenter bees. There must be 200 holes. How can I keep them away?

JOE ROGERS, Quincy

A. Carpenter bees seem to be somewhat of a plague these days, because the handyman gets a fair number of calls on these insects, and their boring of holes. The bees bore the holes into trim boards, mostly, turn the corner and lay eggs. The standard procedure is to spray insecticide in the holes and plug them with caulking compound. But your case -- 200 holes' worth -- is extreme, and plugging the holes is asking a little much. The bees take a real fancy to untreated, unpainted, and unstained wood, and especially to cedar, because it is relatively soft. Replacing all that cedar trim, including the corner boards may be the only cure. There are several choices: 1. You could use clear pine and paint it, or better yet, stain it with a latex solid stain. 2. Use Southern yellow pine, which is considerably harder than standard pine, and paint or stain it. 3. Use pressure-treated wood, which is Southern yellow pine. The hardness of the wood and the pressure treatment may be a deterrent. Treat it with a bleaching oil, which will allow it to turn to a fairly decent-looking weathered gray color. 4. Reluctantly, I suggest this final idea: Clad the trim in white aluminum or vinyl. I say reluctantly because you can't clad it entirely; that would trap moisture in the wood and cause eventual decay. So if you do clad the trim, leave the edges exposed so any moisture that gets in there has a chance to get out.

Q. My house in Orleans was built in 1980, with white cedar shingles and red cedar trim, including the corner boards. The shingles are OK, but the trim is being attacked by carpenter bees. There must be 200 holes. How can I keep them away?

JOE ROGERS, Quincy

A. Carpenter bees seem to be somewhat of a plague these days, because the handyman gets a fair number of calls on these insects, and their boring of holes. The bees bore the holes into trim boards, mostly, turn the corner and lay eggs. The standard procedure is to spray insecticide in the holes and plug them with caulking compound.

But your case -- 200 holes' worth -- is extreme, and plugging the holes is asking a little much. The bees take a real fancy to untreated, unpainted, and unstained wood, and especially to cedar, because it is relatively soft.

Replacing all that cedar trim, including the corner boards may be the only cure. There are several choices: 1. You could use clear pine and paint it, or better yet, stain it with a latex solid stain. 2. Use Southern yellow pine, which is considerably harder than standard pine, and paint or stain it. 3. Use pressure-treated wood, which is Southern yellow pine. The hardness of the wood and the pressure treatment may be a deterrent. Treat it with a bleaching oil, which will allow it to turn to a fairly decent-looking weathered gray color. 4. Reluctantly, I suggest this final idea: Clad the trim in white aluminum or vinyl. I say reluctantly because you can't clad it entirely; that would trap moisture in the wood and cause eventual decay. So if you do clad the trim, leave the edges exposed so any moisture that gets in there has a chance to get out.

Q. I found tiny black and red ants in my bathroom, then found a crack in the concrete foundation. Will sealing the crack keep out ants?

DICK MUELLER, Winchester

A. Maybe, and maybe not; the ants are seeking warmth and moisture, and can make their way into the house in places other than that crack. You could caulk the joint and hope for the best. As for the ants, sweep them up and throw them away. They are harmless. If they stay away, you've lucked out. If not, keep sweeping them up, up and away. You can put down antcups, which may deter them. Place the cups here and there in cabinets, and other places away from human beings and pets. Do not put the cups in cabinets where food and/or dishes are stored. Replace the cups once a month.

Q. I have seen some worms in my cellar. I see their carapaces all over. Some look like buttons, others take a spiral shape. The cellar had two minor floods in March, but has been dry ever since. I think they are all dead, but what are they and how can I keep them out?

N.P., Brookline

A. They sound like sowbugs (the buttons) and pillbugs (the spirals -- only pillbugs can curl up like that). They like moisture, eat decayed material and are harmless in the cellar; more of a hazard in the garden. They are crustaceans, related to crabs and lobsters, and their shells (carapaces) are what is left after they shed. So, keep the cellar dry and remove all debris such as earth, decayed wood and other detritus. As the cellar dries out, the bugs are likely to die because they need water to survive and cannot get to any water.

Q. When I brought my harvested tomatoes in the house, I got a lot of fruit flies. How can I get rid of them?

EILEEN CURRY, Stoneham

A. Store the fruit in plastic bags. Eventually, with luck, the fruit flies will die off, unless you bring in more tomatoes or other fruit from the store.

Q. I have some small moths in my kitchen; their wings turn to powder when they are brushed. I was told they are millers, at least not clothes moths. We sealed off the pantry, and every now and then they disappear and appear again. How can I keep them away?

R.M., Lawrence

A. Sanitation is your best bet. Remove everything from the pantry and dispose of grains, cereals, and other dry goods in cardboard boxes, or, if they are not contaminated, transfer them to plastic containers with airtight lids. Then sanitize: Wash evey surface with a mix of 1 part bleach to 5 to 10 parts water. Or, use rubbing alcohol or Lysol.

The reason they come and go is that they reproduce, producing larvae (worms), which then pupate and develop into moths to start the cycle all over again. If the problem continues, you might have to have the pantry and kitchen fumigated, which requires removal of everything. Pheromone (sex lure) traps may help. If you have to use insecticides on a continuing investation, use silica aerogel, diatomaceous earth, or pyrethrins.

Q. I have a bee infestation under the sill of my front porch. They are getting into a half-inch gap between sill and threshold. I can see them coming and going, and they are more of nuisance than a hazard. How can I get rid of them?

E.B., Cambridge

A. First of all, they are wasps (yellow jackets, hornets, whatever you want to call them) but not bees. The cure is to wait a while, until fall, when they will die off and disappear, never to return again. But others, different ones, will in the spring, so after they die off or you see no activity this fall, caulk that joint heavily. They are unlikely to get through thick, heavy caulking. At least mine didn't, when I caulked a small area along an eave.

They were no bother; in fact, they are beneficial, good predators of other insects, but I figured new ones could go elsewhere in the spring.

Recently we suggested to a caller to cover the inside of an air conditioner in a window with an insulated box, to insulate it and cover all joints to keep out the weather during the winter. This is instead of storing the unit some place else in the house. Remember, those window air conditioners are heavy.

Well, Joe Jankowski of Braintree did better than this, and told us that when he felt a cold breeze near his unit last winter, his wife found a cover for the inside of the unit, a little like the outside cover, at a home goods store. It is made of a quilted material, like a window Quilt, with an elastic band that allows it to be slipped right over the unit. It really stops the cold breezes, Jankowski said.

Q. My retaining wall that is supposed to be made of pressure-treated wood is infested with carpenter ants; at least I see sawdust at the base of the wall and other places. I'd like to replace that wall with something permanent; should it be pressure-treated wood or stone or masonry of some kind?

S. D., Framingham

A. Insects are unlikely to attack real pressure-treated wood; I think you were taken if anyone claimed that what you have is pressure-treated. Not that real pressure-treated wood is impervious to insects, but it certainly is resistant to insects.

Anyway, you could rebuild the wall with real pressure-treated wood, which is identified by a colored plastic label tacked to the end of each timber and board, telling of the chemical content of the wood.

Or, consider concrete blocks specifically designed for retaining walls; they are shaped to interlock into a wall that leans into the retained earth, and are made of a high-pressure concrete that will outlast ordinary concrete by many years. It is expensive but attractive -- and permanent. Call the Ideal Concrete Block Co.; it can tell you where the blocks are sold.

Q. I have wasps in my chimney. It has not been used in 35 years. The wasps start coming in about the middle of November and continue through the middle of February. I'm afraid to build a fire for fear it would set the house on fire. Can you suggest anything?

H.H., Charlotte, N.C.

A. It is not the wasps nor their nest (if it is paper) that would cause a fire, but the condition of the chimney, and being very old it should be inspected before you build a fire in the fireplace. Once the wasps leave, they will not re-occupy the nest, so if the nest is accessible, it can be removed. A paper nest is unlikely to block the chimney enough to set the house afire; any fire in the fireplace would probably burn the paper quickly and harmlessly.

To keep the wasps out, have a stainless steel chimney cap installed. A cap not only keeps water out of the chimney and improves its draft, but, being screened, it will keep wasps, birds, and other critters out as well.

Q. Ants have eaten a large hole in the bottom of my big, old maple tree. The whole is not big enough, yet, to cause a hazard. Can I fill that hole with concrete to help prevent further damage from ants? Will the concrete hurt the tree?

FLORA HAAS, Arlington

A. Not any more than the ants are hurting it; less, in fact. Dig out the ant nest to sound, strong wood, and get rid of the ants. Use a chemical spray or other means. To fill the hole, use a mortar mix, sold in hardware stores. Add water to make a crumbly mix, and trowel it right in, being sure to compress it, then smooth off. This will keep water out of the cavity, and it might keep the ants away for a while, too.

Q. When I took off the rotted fascia boards and soffits of my eaves, I discovered some wasps, but no ants. How can I get rid of the wasps, and keep them away?

C.C., Framingham

A. Wait a while. The wasps will die out in cold weather. Meanwhile, you can install new fascia and soffits, being very careful not to get the wasps in a bad mood. Keeping wasps out is another matter; they can get into the tiniest nook and cranny in a house, and unless you know where the wasps are entering, you would have to caulk practically the whole house. However, properly installed fascia and soffits (the under parts of the roof overhang), that is, tightly, may keep future wasps out.

Besides, where wasps play, ants will not stay. Wasps are predators, and beneficial insects. Ants, especially carpenter ants, are not.

Q. Ants are in the house, mostly in the kitchen in my townhouse condo. I go four of five days without seeing any, then I see one or a few. They are large. An exterminator said they could be carpenter ants. What can I do?

MANY CALLERS, Everytown

A. They could be Martians, too. Ants in the house could be carpenter ants, but only an entomologist can say for sure. They are more likely plain ants, small, black and common, which come in the house seeking warmth, moisture and food. They usually come in in spring and fall, and because of the mild winter, they are a little early. They are found in kitchens and bathrooms, where there is moisture.

What can you do? If they are not carpenter ants, sweep them up and throw them away. There is no need to spray pesticides, especially indoors. They will do little good and are harmful to the denizens of the house. You can put down ant cups, which contain an insecticide, which may deter the ants. Put the cups under the stove and and other places away from pets and humans. Do not put them in cabinets where dishes or food is stored.

If they are carpenter ants, and that has to be confirmed by a competent exterminator or an entomologist, the nest must be located and destroyed. Carpenter ants tend to work in damp, punky wood, which may give the exterminator a clue to where that nest is. One thing you can do is look for piles of dirty sawdust anywhere in the house: on floors, for instance, below wood beams and on top of exposed beams. These piles provide a clue to where the ants might be. And, finally, get rid of any damp, punky wood in the house and replace it with dry, sound wood. If the wood you find is just damp, not punky, cut off the source of the moisture and let the wood dry out.

Q. I saw hornets flying around my eaves last summer, and going into the attic. I think I see some holes where they are entering. If I plug those holes, will I trap insects in the attic?

THERESA ROKA, Needham

A. Even if you trap them in summer, they will probably find their way out anyway, and if they don't, they will die in fall and winter. So, there is no problem whether you plug the holes in summer or winter. Next summer, their offspring may show up and if there are no holes, they will go to elsewhere.

Q. Two years ago I had aluminum gutters and vinyl siding installed. Yellow jackets nested under the gutters or behind the vinyl. Could they be getting behind the gutter and into the house? In the fall I see a few in the house, but they are sluggish.

A.J., Stoneham

A. If they are getting behind the gutters, they may be getting into the attic, and eventually into the house. Those in the house are either lost or seeking warmth, and in the fall they are at the end of their lives anyway. Those that are behind the vinyl, which has hollow areas behind it, have found a perfect nesting place: warm, snug, accessible and comfortable. Another favorite nesting place is behind shutters.

You can't do much about the wasps behind the vinyl, but they are not getting in the house anyway. You could check behind the gutters to see if there are any holes there, and replace the fascia (the board the gutter sits on) if there are any holes too big to plug, or plug them with caulking compound.

If you continue to get a few hornets in the house in the fall, sweep them up and throw them away. They are probably too sluggish to cause trouble.

Q. My daughter has very small ants in her house, and she does not want to use any sprays because she has a baby who likes to crawl on the floor. If food is dropped on the floor, the ants come a-running. How can she keep the ants away?

A.W., Framingham

A. If food is dropped, will ants come? They sure will. One preventive is sanitation; provide no food or water for the critters, who come in where it is warm and damp. The dropped food is a bonus. Sweep up the ants as they show up and throw them away. Any spray is excessive and should not be used anyway, like using a howitzer on a single soldier. And that applies whether there are babies crawling around or not.

Q. Ladybugs are invading my home, and they are all over the front of the house, outside. How are they getting in the house, and what can I do about them?

KELLY CONGER, Foxborough

A. Ah, the second annual invasion of the ladybugs that ate Cleveland. Chances are that they are the multicolored Asian lady beetle, which caused problems last year by invading houses by the thousands. Obviously, they are doing it again. They were imported some 80 years ago to eat aphids and other soft-bellied pests but the introduction did not take. The current ones were probably imported by accident by an Asian freighter in New Orleans, and they have spread across most of the country. They are beneficial, because they do eat pests, but their invasion of houses and tendency to gather all over the outside of houses is a nuisance.

How do they get in? Who knows. Since a mouse can go through a hole the size of a dime, the tiny ladybug can get in through almost any opening.

Sweep them up with broom and dustpan, or vacuum them and release them outdoors. Seal all suspected entry places with caulking and make sure screens are tight and intact. Be careful sweeping or vacuuming them; if they are alarmed they may discharge a yellow fluid that can stain walls, paint, and fabrics.

Q. Some of my weight-balanced windows are a little punky at the bottom of the inner sash and the sill, areas that become wet and take a long time to dry out. Sometimes I see some gray-brown, football-shaped bugs about an eighth of an inch long near the jamb, but only a few at a time. What can I do about those bugs and the dampness? I plan to recaulk the storm windows to keep as much rain out as possible. The storms have weepholes in the bottom frame.

R. P., Wellesley

A. Those bugs sound like pillbugs or sowbugs, which are really crustaceans, related to crabs, lobsters and shrimp. Your description fits the bill except for their size, which is larger than you described. But they love moisture (the damp wood and sill, for example) and may be finding decaying matter to eat. They are harmless indoors, but eat plants outdoors.

If you dry out the wood on the window and the sill, they will go away. Recaulking the storm window may help, and make sure those weepholes are allowing water that gets between window and storm to flow out. Make sure there are no wall or roof leaks contributing to the moisture.

One more thing to check: When you close the storms for the winter, lowering the bottom sash in place, make sure it's the right sash. The right one to lower is the inner sash; the outer sash stays in place in its ``up'' position. If you do it the other way, the two won't meet properly, leaving a gap that is a perfect air scoop (for escaping air) and a perfect place for rain and snow to get into.

It sounds weird, but it has been done, and the Handyman has discovered it -- in someone else's house -- at least once.

Why does it happen? When people start to close the storms in winter, the inner sash is usually in an ``up'' position, with the screen lowered into position. The screen must be raised to get to the storm sash, and sometimes the individual will lower the outer sash because it is easier to get to.

Q. Last spring I found some termites swarming in my yard, but an inspector found no evidence of damage and drilled a hole in suspected wood and found no activity. Do I have to termite-proof the house? Is it indeed necessary or possible?

D.L., Lexington

A. Termite-proofing is not necessary because it is not possible in an existing house; it is not easy and not foolproof to termite-proof a house under construction. But there are things you can do to make the house termite-resistant. Make sure there are no wood parts of the house in contact with the ground. That may mean rebuilding porches or decks so that any wood members are 8 inches, more if possible, above the ground, or building the porches and steps of masonry. Keep wood and wood debris, and wood chips and mulch, well away from the house.

Once that is done, set up a termite patrol. On a regular basis, say once a month or so, patrol around the house outdoors, inspect the foundation; you are looking for mud tunnels, quite obvious when you see them, on the foundation, which is the only way termites can get into your house for a meal; except when they are feeding, they nest in the ground. And if they are exposed to light and air for very long, they will die. Do the same indoors. If your foundation is poured concrete, this task is easier because the tunnels will be outside, possibly inside. It's tougher with a stone or block foundation, because the critters could make their tunnels in the nooks and crannies of such foundations, making them invisible. If you find mud tunnels, tear them down.

And, in your patrol, bring along an awl or other sharp tool, or screwdriver, so you can poke into the wood to see if it has been eaten or is soft and punky; termites eat the wood from the inside out.

Finally, if you suspect activity, call the bug man for another inspection. Eternal vigilance is the price of a termite-free house.

Q. The bluestone-in-sand patio at my New Hampshire house is 20 years old, is in the sun, and is plagued with ants pushing up the sand into those annoying little hills. The brick-in-sand patio at my Natick house has no trouble with ants. There is some moss between the brick. Is there any way to keep the ants away in New Hampshire?

T. M., Natick

A. Hey, that's what ants do, particularly on a sunny patio. The Handyman's brick patio has those piles, and it is in shade. So, do what the Handyman does: Sweep the sand back into the joints whenever you think of it. The moss between the bricks in Natick looks good, gives the patio a look of antiquity, and probably is a deterrent to ant activity. If the hills are quite extensive and a bother, pour boiling water into the joints once or twice a day. This will be a deterrent, giving you a chance to keep ahead of them.

If you see a lot of hills not only on the patio but also in the grass, then you could give the ants a dose of granular Diazinon, which will be a temporary deterrent. Avoid overusing Diazinon or any other pesticide.

Q. I am a little concerned about termites getting into my house where there is some three-quarter-inch hemlock mulch around the foundation. It is covered by patio blocks. Should that mulch be so close to the house?

T.B., Framingham

A. The current wisdom on termites is that there should be no wood or even wood chunks of any size near the foundation. I personally don't think it is a problem, but I also think it might attract carpenter ants, which could be a worse plague than termites. So, take it out and put it in an area away from the house (no point in letting it go to waste), and put crushed stone in its place, under the patio blocks.

Q. I think I have carpenter bees; at least I see sawdust filtering down from the eaves over the patio door. I tried spraying, but I don't know how effective it was. I see no holes where the bees have penetrated any wood. How can I get rid of them?

M.O., Wilmington

A. The sawdust is a sign of carpenter bees, but a more obvious one is holes in the siding or wood trim of the house. Since you don't see any holes, they might be hidden.

Bees would be active nearby if they are carpenter bees, which are about the size of a bumblebee and have hairless bellies, as opposed to the hairy bellies of bumblebees. The males don't sting and the females might, but only when they are roughly handled. They are good pollinators, so are beneficial insects that should not be killed.

The normal treatment is to wait until the bees have left the nest and then plug the hole with steel wool and wire screening. Plugging the hole with caulking may not work because bees can penetrate this soft material.

Since you cannot find any holes, you can spray with pyrethrum at the source of the sawdust, and keep all trim well painted.

If these treatments don't work, you might inspect the eaves for damage from carpenter ants.

Q. I have had about a quarter cord of firewood in the house for a year. I noticed there is a little dusting of the wood under the bark, and the bark comes off easily. Do I have bugs? If so, what can I do about them?

DAN, Beverly

A. You probably don't have bugs, but I say ``probably'' because there is always a possiblity of bugs; that is why it is recommended that you store only enough firewood in house or basement that you will burn in a day. Keep the rest outdoors, at least 10 feet from the house.

If you don't see any bugs or ants, you don't have any, generally. Termites are unlikely to survive in that situation because they have to go to their nests in the ground twice a day, and getting from that free-standing wood to the ground is difficult if not impossible. If there are any bugs, it could be the old house borer or powder post beetles (there are many kinds of each), which leave tell-tale holes in the wood. If there any there, chances are that burning the wood will dispose of them. The powdering and the ease of removing bark are due to aging of the wood and its drying out.