Replace rotten wood to get rid of ants
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Q. Ants: Hundreds of them. I have at least 500 carpenter ants, big ones, in my house, and I have sprayed and sprayed. Many go away but others keep coming back. There is an area of rotted wood outside where I have sprayed. What else can I do? I even sprayed indoors.
P.O., Reading
A. Stop spraying indoors. The ants indoors are lost and forlorn, and will not last long. Sweep them up and throw them away.
The only thing you should do indoors other than eternal sweeping, is to put down ant cups and use boric acid along the baseboards. Very little is needed, and keep the boric acid away from dogs, cats, other pets, and other humans.
Outside, that rotten wood is a dead give-away, I believe, for carpenter ants. It is their nest, which they occupy in damp, punky wood. Your next project is to destroy that nest and take away all the decayed wood and replace it with new, sound wood. If you are lucky enough to get the queen, which is huge, you will have no more problems. But you still must replace that wood.
Q. I own a duplex and live in half of it, and a smoker lives in the other half. After he leaves, how can I clean that half to get rid of the very strong odor? I removed rugs and pads. What should I clean and how?
WATERTOWN, N.Y.
A. Ah, yes, it is an awful smell, and it reminds me of the song by Tex Williams and His Western Caravan, "Smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette, and if you smoke yourself to death, tell St. Peter at the Golden Gate that he will have to wait, 'cause I have to have another cigarette!"
OK, Watertown, if the rugs and pads are not that good, it is best to dump them. If they are expensive Orientals, many dealers have big washing machines at their stores that do a yeoman's job. Then, clean everything in sight. Hire a house cleaning service or a smoke odor counteracting service.
Q. When I moved into a new ('83) house, my son took the paper off in one room. It came off easily, without water, but left a very hard, heavy, rough, miserable residue of paste. How can I get that off? I want to paint the walls, which, as far as I can tell, have not been painted. I think the walls are plasterboard.
NORMA MELE, Medford
A. If it is on unpainted plasterboard, it is going to be tough to handle, because water will soften the paper and any scraping with a knife or scraper can gouge the paper on the plasterboard. The paste on the wall may also contain a glue size, but try this: It might scrape off dry by pushing with a wide putty knife.
If that doesn't work, soak it with warm water until it softens, which will make scraping easier and safer. Or, rent a steamer, which will soften the paste with less water.
Put down a plastic tarp to keep water off the floor.
Birds in the chimney
When a caller asked the Handyman what to do about small black birds in his chimney, the Handyman suggested burning a fire in the fireplace to shoo them away, then cap the chimney with a stainless steel cap to keep them from reentering.
He received two replies, one rather scolding.
E-mailed MtnTopGrl: "Light a fire so they'll have to leave the baby birds to die? Shame on you! The birds in question are chimney swifts. You should leave the birds alone. Once they are finished nesting for the season, which may take a few months if you get more than one family, then you can cap the chimney if you must.
"The birds do not hurt your chimney. We've had them for several years now. We don't need fires in the summer months, so we stuff a pillow up in the chimney above the fireplace so they don't fall down into the house. Live and let live!"
E-mailed Nina Hix of Shreveport, La.: "I read your response regarding the 'black birds' in the fireplace. The writer's first call should be to a chimney sweep to determine the type of birds. If they are chimney swifts, the writer should just live with it as they will be gone in a few weeks when their young are old enough to leave the nest.
"Once they have vacated, the chimney the top can be sealed with wire so they can't get back in. I live in Louisiana and for the past three years we have hosted a family of chimney swifts. Yes, the racket does get a little noisy sometimes, especially if the nest falls into the fireplace.
"However, my family has been able to learn about a bird we never knew existed and watch the babies grow, climb the side of the fireplace and eventually crawl out of top of our chimney, then hang there until they take their first flight."
Thank you, Nina, for a thoughtful note. When I answered the question it did not occur to me that they might be swifts, and I regret that because I like people and critters, except rats and mice. I stand corrected, and will be more aware of birds that live in chimneys and don't bother or hurt anyone or anything.
Q. A small area of the ceiling of our condo was stained by a water leak in the unit above us. I don't know what to do about it. Can I bleach it or paint over it?
M.S., Lexington
A. First, try painting a bit of household bleach on the stain. If that works, nothing else is necessary. If the stain remains, a different approach is necessary: Paint the stain with clear shellac, then paint the ceiling.
If you tried the bleach and it did not work, rinse it before applying the shellac. Nothing, but nothing, is compatible with bleach. If you paint the ceiling without using shellac, the stain will bleed right through.
Q. I would like to cover a small area (4 by 10 feet) beside my walkway with an artificial material that looks like grass. What do you think of AstroTurf? What can I fill that area with that is now half earth and half grass?
GARDEN IMPOSSIBLE
A. AstroTurf as a substitute for grass? No thanks. I know you want a maintenance-free spot, why not put a border of bricks around the space, maybe as wide as 1 foot, then plant perennials in the middle? Tulips, daylilies, and daisies will give you color through midsummer with a minimum of effort. It's a thought.
Even professionally installed AstroTurf will look like just what it is. Or, plant pachysandra or myrtle. Both are ground covers and maintenance free.
Q. Thanks for telling me that the house and its contents will not be damaged by leaving the house cold all winter. The idea of opening windows a tad to release water vapor is good, but what if I time my whole-house fan to turn on for a few minutes several times a day. Would that work? The only problem is the antifreeze in the boiler is good only down to 10 degrees.
THANKFUL
A. Everything is A-OK. You can use the whole-house fan (with those windows open a tad), and in my opinion, 10 degrees is safe, at least in Massachusetts and other places except the frozen North: Northern New England, my home territory of Upper Peninsula Michigan, Northern states from Maine to Washington, and Canada.
Remember, the boiler and pipes are indoors, which help, safety-wise. If you are in doubt, add more antifreeze.
Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is also in the Styles Section on Thursdays. He is available 1-6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer questions on house repair. Call 617-929-2930. Hotton also chats online about house matters 2-3 p.m. Thursdays. To participate, go to Boston.com Hotton's e-mail is photton@globe.com.
