TXcampingfamily
San Antonio, TX
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Joined: 07/04/2008
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Last summer we picked up what looked like an ant colony. It had been raining about a month before we picked up our unit from storage. We ended up using a fogger. This summer half way through our trip we started see "visitors". Again, it was raining almost every afternoon. Quickly DH went to the store and bought spray and traps. We put out the traps inside and looked to see where they were coming in. Another camper said he always has problems when it rains and suggested spraying outside on the leveling jack and anywhere else that the unit touches the ground. We sprayed up high on the jacks, axils, landing gear etc. so the rain would not wash the poison off. One day later they were gone. A few days later another camper mentioned having ant problems. We loaned him the spray and traps and that worked for him too. Another area to watch out for is trees and coming in through the roof. The trick is to block all paths into your unit with the ant spray. They will not cross the poison. Hope this helps!
Gin & Mike
2001 Jayco Qwest 265
2001 Ford F350 crewcab 4x4
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jrs1871
Kansas
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Joined: 11/22/2007
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As mentioned you can't treat just the ones you see, you have to get back to the nest. Terro (or a home made borax and sugar treatment) works great for sweet eating ants but you need different treatments for different types of ants. We have found that several no pest strips hung in the trailer (when not being used) will take care of all sorts of creepy crawlies and you don't have to take out dishes, clothing etc. They are effective for about 3 months time. You can buy the brand name version at Wal Mart or you can buy a generic one in the livestock pesticide section of your local farm store. We keep some hanging in the basement storage compartments at all times. About the only things they aren't very effective for are the Texas fire ants and those critters take their own special kind of treatment.
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Bill - Sheila
Grayson, GA
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Joined: 03/20/2008
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Thank you all for the great suggestions! we did the borax traps and so far so good. We put them all over, since we are now at home. We will be leaving again on the 4th, so hopefully the ants won't be coming too. This is a great forum!!! Happy traveling and camping to all.
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SieraSam
Gold Country
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Joined: 10/29/2002
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Never heard of the "Banana Peel" remedy. Will lay some by ants nest in ground around the prperty for test.
Class A, FMCA #F269745
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Znarffsu
Clermont, Fl
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Joined: 08/18/2004
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My house, camper, boat, and truck were all invaded by White Footed ants. If you research them you will see that they are an invasive species to Florida from Japan. Unfortunately they are almost impossible to get rid of due to the fact that they do not go back to the colony to feed poison baits to the others. Instead they lay a sterile egg that the others eat. After several years of trying to evict them, I finally had to buy a professional product off the internet called Termidor. Its the same product that you use to bond your house against termites. After spraying on the exterior of my camper, the next day I found literally millions of dead ants inside the camper. Ive used alot of products and this was the only one that worked. Whats nice too is that its not that toxic. It contains the same ingredient that you find in Advantage that you put on dogs to keep the fleas off.
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Lynn Rupper
Full-timing USA 14 Years
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Joined: 09/11/2005
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Just use TEROR it works.
2003 Dodge Ram 2500 CTD, 6spd manual
1995 HitchHiker
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Al/Reeni
Ft Myers, Fl
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Joined: 02/02/2006
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Having done a short career as a pest technician (bug man) in So Fla, I do know that some species of ants will "bud" if you spray them. They are "under attack", so one colony will divide into half-a-dozen more colonies and soon you'll have more ants than before. Different species react to different treatments in different ways. "Termidor", as mentioned above works well for most ants and roaches both. "Terro bait" is good, as well, and readily available at retail outlets. Boric acid (borax) has been used for decades and is still effective, and harmless.
Be sure to keep food debris and water sources (even a wet sink or shower) to a minimum. Also, they are attracted to electricity and electronics. Spray you shorepower cord.
Once they are under control, block re-entry by spraying any part of the RV that touches the ground (cords, hoses, jacks, tires) and be sure no branches or bushes are touching the outside of the RV.
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