Pesky little ants.... They're everywhere!

[ajcatman]

Never had this problem before, no fault of Grand Design. My latest camping trip found me chasing those pesky little ants. I call them sugar ants. First, I saw one checking out a Little Debbie chocolate roll I placed on the counter while getting a glass of milk. Next thing I know, I'm needing a trip to Wally World to buy any spray.
They got everywhere. I found the main trail crawling up my water hose but by the time I sprayed around outside, the little boogers infested cabinets, dishes, everywhere I checked, I found them.
When I got home I completely emptied the camper and set off bug bombs to try to rid them.
Any suggestions???
I'm not new to camping, but this was a first. I've had them get on my stuff outside, never inside. I guess I've been lucky... until now.

[kanatachris]

Anyone ever been to Huntington Beach State Park on the ocean in South Carolina is well acquainted with this issue! Any time we in an area where ants are problematic, we crack out the diatomaceous earth. Got it at any Home Depot. Apply the white powdery product liberally around anything that touches the ground....tires, levelling jacks, power cord, water line, sewer hose. Make 100% sure no leaves, branches or anything touches the trailer. Works like a charm for us.

We're lucky in that our winters regularly see temps in the -30s so any littles ants left over at the end of a season can't survive winter. In hindsight, how does -30C make us lucky????? Anyway the diatomaceous earth seems to work very well.

Chris

[ajcatman]

No -30's here. We're lucky to see it drop below freezing. Ants are a problem at most campgrounds I've been to only this time, they decided they wanted some A/C.

[LCBoyer]

I keep Terro ant bait out

[WhittleBurner]

we crack out the diatomaceous earth. .

Chris

Xs 2, except if you have pets be sure to get the food grade and it wont hurt them. You can find the food grade DE on amazon. Put it in every nook and cranny...under drawers cabinets everywhere! Along with out side. Its also good for flea prevention, safe to powder the dogs with. Also if they have worms you can feed it to them instead of the insecticides the vet wants to prescribe.

The only ants that gave us a tough run for with that was the damn red ants in FL.

[Sandi]

X 2 what LC Boyer said!! We had the invasion last year in Tampa. I could sit and watch them crawl up the walls beside my chair. Very unsettling! The Terro took about 48 hours to completely get rid of them but it works great. We keep in on board a t all times now. Now when the jacks go down we sprinkle everywhere something touches the ground with Comet. We also throw a few moth balls under the unit to keep the little mice away. As the hubs says-an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!!

[ajcatman]

Great advice. I'll have to look for X2. Never heard of it.

[Benny and Valinda]

We purchased Tempo. https://www.amazon.com/Tempo-Control...empo+pesticide
We mix up one gallon spray bottle and keep it in the RV. Spray on anything that touches the ground and you will not be bothered with ants, roaches or spiders. Completely safe for animals after it drys. Can be sprayed on the baseboards and it will last about 6 months. The bottle on the link will last the average person about 3 years. A friend of mine in the chicken house business put me on to this and it is great and can be used in your house also.

[GENESIS]

Some excellent tips! When were po'folks tent camping we battled them ants several times. Once we camped at a lake with our pontoon boat and they not only invaded the tent and the boat. When we broke camp and I opened the truck the sons-a-guns were in there TOO!

Our next trip in two weeks will be to Disney's Fort Wilderness. I'm absolutely convinced there won't be any ant issues. Why?? Because.....if any of you have been to Disney World, have you ever noticed the lack of bugs?? And that place is built in the middle of mosquito world. Ever asked yourself how they do it?? I have. LOL.......

Tom

[Go Dawgs]

Easy to fix. Had the same problem with my current trailer (new one in a couple of days). Buy some Borax soap and mint jelly. Mix 1 tbl of jelly to 1/4 teaspoon of Borax. Place on some was paper on the routes they use. Give it a couple of days then remove and throw away. May take a couple of treatments to remedy the issue. Its a way to do this without using chemicals and no smell.