Trim trees and bushes that touch a home s roofing and siding.
Ants behind vinyl siding.
They burrow into it to make their nests so they leave behind a wood dust.
If it can t be found once you pull the siding you ll need to find some other way to locate it and get the dust in there.
How to get rid of ants begin with looking for holes in the siding where ants are crawling in and out.
If you notice the ants carting off their eggs then they are moving out.
The holes are often located between bricks where mortar has fallen out under lap siding or in cracks in stucco.
Unlike termites carpenter ants do not actually eat wood.
Examine your foundation for cracks and tightly seal.
Unfortunately it also gave cover and safe harborage to many pests.
As most of the posters said water or moisture is the reason they are there.
The problem with treating pests that lodge behind this shielding is that it gives you very little access to inject anything meaningful.
No animal insect or bacteria likes bleach.
If you are leaving the siding off for a short period of time to dry out i would get a spray container and fill it with a bleach solution then spray the area.
But with carpenter ants you really need to find the nest which is probably in wood somewhere underneath that siding.
And you need to make sure you treat that with a strong insecticide.
If you have a serious carpenter ant problem you may find wood shavings underneath your siding.
If you frequently see ants in the same area on the siding there s probably a nest in there.