Ants in my pants!

malk415 · 01-03-2014, 12:19 PM

Sirs:

We have been on the road for 4 months from WA state to FL.

Recently in Homestead FL we found a bunch of what I am going to call piss ants or sugar ants.

Then when we moved to the Florida Keys we found some large black ants or carpenter ants.

The sugar ants have disappeared, maybe the big black ants ate them!!

I assume they crawl up the tires or jacks.

The big question is..... WILL THEY LEAVE?

Mark

wa8yxm · 01-03-2014, 12:42 PM

Question: Do you have pets? If the answer is NO, then visit a vet and get TWO bug bombs.. Follow label instructions (Do not forget to kill all ignition sources, I'd kill house power completly) set 'em off, take the better half to dinner, Return 2 or 3 hours later, open door, Open "lid" (Fantastic or max-air fan) and activate, Open windows, for at least a half hour, Then restore normal HEVAC operation and once comfortable move back in, Ants will be in one of two states, Dead or Gone.

wildmandmc · 01-03-2014, 12:42 PM

when it gets cold, best to spray the tires, any hoses that touch the ground and go into rv. lowes/home depot has home pest control stuff, just don't spray on counter, if u can safely wipe with bleach that might help , just look out wht bleach comes in contact with, may remove finish's. put all sugar items in a plastic container, wipe container off before putting in cabinet

malk415 · 01-03-2014, 05:26 PM

Thanks for the suggestions, but the mh is not so infested that I would set off a bug bomb.

There were only a few of them at the two stops.

Mark

skigramp · 01-03-2014, 05:39 PM

We use a product "Terro" that attracts and kills ants.

We take a small piece of foil ... 1" x 1" and turn the sides up slightly ... put one or two drops of Terro in the middle of the foil ... it attracts the ants ... they are poisoned by it ... the first day you will have lots of ants coming to the bait ... second day not so many .... third day zilch ...

I think we bought the last bottle in Walmart or Ace Hardware ... one bottle last for a decade

NeilV · 01-04-2014, 01:06 AM

I use Terro and a variety of bait traps as different types of ants are attracted to different things such as sugar, fats, peanut butter, etc. I would not spray some of the oily or solvent ant sprays on rubber items such as power cords or tires since they can have an impact and cause a problem worse than the ants. Bayer makes ant powder/granuals that I use around the perimter of my motorhome that helps greatly with the assortment of ants you find here in Florida. Also put the bait traps in the basement where the water/sewer lines and electric bay are located.

Amazon.com: Bayer 700050A Triple Action Ant Killer Granules - 1.5 lb.: Patio, Lawn & Garden

flaggship1 · 01-04-2014, 10:34 AM

X2 on Terro baits and granules. Once they came in, Annie did have a hard time watching them get the bait on them and then make their way back out to the nest. The tendency is to want to squash them, but they need to carry it back to their home to really put an end to them.

Journey39n · 01-09-2014, 02:55 AM

Picked up ants on an extended stay in November. Got some ant traps and placed where we saw the most ants. Next day, lots of ants on traps, next day lots less ants to see, third day, no ants. Getting the type of trap, that the poison gets back to the colony is the best!
Next stop, wife put out some hummingbird feeder that dripped on the outside of the front of the coach. In two days, we had ants that found it, they travelled some 40 feet from the back of the coach, through the slideouts, to the dash, and out to the outside of the windshield to get to it. Placed the ant traps out again, three days, no more ants.
Watching the placement of those hummingbird feeders now :-)

SuperGewl · 01-14-2014, 05:26 AM

I have heard that taking one of those fabric softener sheets and attaching it to the power cord, water hose, and cable just prior to coming into the coach will keep critters out, also spraying around the tires with some sort of ant spray helps also. the gel type of ant bait works great also, they take it back to the collective and it kills them all.

NeilV · 01-15-2014, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperGewl

I have heard that taking one of those fabric softener sheets and attaching it to the power cord, water hose, and cable just prior to coming into the coach will keep critters out, also spraying around the tires with some sort of ant spray helps also. the gel type of ant bait works great also, they take it back to the collective and it kills them all.

Many of the sprays are harmfull to rubber products as can be the dryer sheets. Be very carefull around the rubber power leads and tires as you do not want to soften or gum up the casings on either one of those items.

The granuals around the perimeter along with the bait traps will do the job, just be mindfull of children and pets.

snoopydad · 01-17-2014, 05:00 PM

as a licensed pest control tech I spray the inside perimeter of the coaches compartments with Dr doom residual it will kill any insect that walks across it
wont affect pets or humans

Bfmorgan · 01-17-2014, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skigramp

We use a product "Terro" that attracts and kills ants.

We take a small piece of foil ... 1" x 1" and turn the sides up slightly ... put one or two drops of Terro in the middle of the foil ... it attracts the ants ... they are poisoned by it ... the first day you will have lots of ants coming to the bait ... second day not so many .... third day zilch ...

I think we bought the last bottle in Walmart or Ace Hardware ... one bottle last for a decade

We had a bad infestation of carpenter ants in our MH. We called a pest control company to work on the problem. He showed up, said to go get some Terro, and it would take 2-3 weeks to kill all of the ants. He was right.

NeilV · 01-18-2014, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snoopydad

as a licensed pest control tech I spray the inside perimeter of the coaches compartments with Dr doom residual it will kill any insect that walks across it
wont affect pets or humans

Is that better than Demon or just a competitors similar product?

jerichorick · 01-18-2014, 09:55 AM

A new ant has shown up in TX. It was first identified in 2000, if I recall correctly. It is named after the scientist that discovered it. "Raspberry ant." It gets into anything electrical. Once one dies it emits an odor that attracts more ants. And the cycle begins. I saw a light switch that didn't work. When broken open it was FULL to the max with ants. They get into RV electrical systems and create havoc. There is no known deterrent for them that I know of. Maybe our pest control poster has some input.

Bruadair · 01-18-2014, 11:00 AM

Another believer in Terro, we had a sugar ant infestation on our sailboat and this was the only thing that got rid (killed) them. It's not an overnight solution, I think on our boat it took close to a month because of eggs hatching and more ants appearing but in time they were killed before they could lay more eggs. Great stuff.

ladagobago · 01-18-2014, 07:21 PM

Ants are everywhere. In our floida home they even found thier way into the pool pump motor. When I took it to the repair shop for a new set of bearings about two hundrend fell out of the inside of the pump. they got is from a little weep hole. The fella at the shop was not surprised but had a can of bug spray in use to kill them all in about 30 seconds. They were big black ants. We also had all other kinds of ants in or around the house.

I got HOME DEFENSE and sprayed everywhere. we left for the summer and never saw any ant after we sprayed. when we went back in November still no ants. We use Home Defense on our boat too. Boat get nasty spiders. I HATE SPIDERS. Once got bit by a little spider and got a staph infection that cause blood infection and almost lost my left arm.

At home in New Jersey we get the little PISS ants also called SURGAR ants. These smell sweet pungent when you squeese them. I found they like to nest within the wall in the insulation. We tried proffesional exteminators $1200 dollars. The ants died upon entering the transom of our house but after about a year they would end up even in the garbage disposal. I went to home depot and got a gell that you can put into little cracks etc. and also a lot of insect spray for ants and roaches. I drilled holes in the wall from the garage side and sprayed the inside with insecticide. fill all the fine cracks with the gell and have not seen an ant anywhere for over three month.

there are no ants or spiders in the MH as I use Home Defense and the Bombs once every six months. that is about the persistancy of the chemicals.

now that I said that I would be they will attack in the next day or two