well lucky me,
the small amount of wood shavings i found under window frame are from carpenter ants
found a small amount of wood shavings, looks like when you sharpen a pencil
didnt think much of it as it is an old house
then with the recent hot spell found about 20 large black ants some with wings clustered above this area
hit them with mortein surface spray
first thought was termites but these have bent antennae and segmented bodies and are about 2cm long
after googling have determined they are carpenter ants
went into roof cavity expecting to see something from a horror movie
found exactly nothing, all nice clean solid wood
have sprayed the perimeter of the house with bifenthrin and all inside roof around this window
for last 24 hours have been cleaning dead ants from floor around window
now to my question the adjacent room B1 often has a strong chemical smell during hot weather double brick wall
do you think this is formic acid? if so will it go away
do you think there could be a nest between the brick cavity, google says carpenter ants nest in wood
needless to say wife is a bit freaked out
thanks Andrew