Biological warfare on the home front

This spring carpenter ants have yet again tried to take posession of my cabin. As before I have employed chemicals to convince them to move elsewhere, but this year I made a small experiment as well - I applied a sauce of chili peppers and chili oil to the foundation.

The foundation is made up of stones and concrete, and the near horizontal "stripe" starting on the left hand side is the chili sauce. This picture was taken after a couple of weeks, and by then there were no carpenter ants to be seen. However, when I applied the stuff there was a single one that found its way blocked by my product. It (she?) tried to cross in multiple places, but each time turned back to try somewhere else. The ant also performed a series of "washing" operations, as if the chili had got stuck to it and it tried to clean it off.

I think maybe that I next year shall apply a similar mixture early in the spring. Maybe it will discourage the carpenters so that they find a home somewhere else.