Ants in caravan!

G'day Elly

No advice on getting rid of them from inside the van, but we've always used the talcum powder around the stabilizer legs as a deterrent, and that seems to work - or perhaps we've just been lucky? Others use the stabilizer leg pads with the small reservoir for water.

Cheers
John

Elly

Ants can sometimes be an indication that there may be dry rot present in a timber (Mernati) frame. We had this problem and tried every poison known to man in an effort to get rid of them. After about two months we went a little deeper into the problem only to find that the front window had not been sealed properly at the time of construction and the entire front frame had to be replaced.

Check for staining on the interior panelling or around the windows.

Ants normally like to have ground access unless there is sufficient moisture as in dry rot.

Kevin J

See Rogues Gallery on caravannersforum.

We have had some ants in the house previously and used Mortien ant baits, they worked a treat, so they might do the trick in the van for you.


cheers Unc

Hi Elly,

I find ant rid is effective and available in our local supermarket. ( in a little bottle)
The idea is to put a small amount of it in their track. I think they are attracted to it and take it back to the nest to poison their family.

And outside the van, sprinking talc is effective around the legs but not so good when it rains as it has to be re done each time.

Ohhh...and avoid parking the van somewhere on an ants nest or in their path if you bush camp....we have done it unknowlingly!

regards,

Heather

My Father in Law found the same thing in a van he purchased (2nd hand) on their first trip! I can assure you he wasn't a happy camper either!
From memory he used Ant Rid....it's pretty much what I would do if I had an ant problem in the house I'd for for ant rid or some sort of ant baits.

On the two occasions I've found small ants in my house I've used surface spray, and they haven't been back, probably because I nipped it in the bud straight away!

It is easy to make up your own ant rid formula and customize it to your local ants :-)

The basis is a small amount of powdered borax dissolved into a lure that the ants will eat.

I find corn syrup is a good base to start with.

As a rough rule of thumb 1/4 teaspoon of borax to 2 tablespoons of lure.

Your lure can be sugar, sugar syrup, fruit cordial, minced meat, or whatever the ants seem to be eating.

The workers transport the poison back to the nest and after a while no more ant problems.

You may need to repeat a few times to ensure every last one is knocked off.

( I understand the borax dries up fluid in the ants causing death rather than actually being a poison, I would still ensure any baits are well away from pets and children )

Set up 3 some spray can bombs for fleas, ants and cockys that you can buy at woolies or coles they come in packs of 3 open all cupboards. you will have to wash all of the stuff that you use for eating but they work well. Just follow the directions on the can. make sure you turn every thing of and tape over the vents.

In our old Jayco camper ants found their way into the bar you push out over the bed. I took the bar out and ran a small jug of vinegar and lemon through it, they made a nest in there. I kept a spray bottle of it handy for any more that found their way in.

Forget all your expensive environmentally unfriendly potions. We just leave an open container of vinegar in the van and have had no problems with ants like we used to. If you have them in the boot you will require one in there as well.

hi ,i'm in Prevelley Park WA, and the the local Coles must be doing a roaring trade in Ant bait, most of the vans have an ant problem in my area, they climp up the ropes on the screen ! found ant rid powder on all access points stopped them , but the vinegar idea sounds good. cheers Bazz

Living in a Caravan permanently you hear all sorts of myths and mothers tales about how to control ants, I live in a spot where Ants are in millions, from what I call Micro Ants half the size of a pin head and will build a nest in light and power switches, we have small Ants, medium Ants, large Ants, black Ants, Ginger Ants, and green Ants (yummy) that green arse tastes good.
Anyhow my remedy is spray the nest with WD40, yes WD40 , next plaster and inch wide grease around anything that touches the ground, like the water hose, power cord, drain hose, stabiliseing legs, and the Jockywheel, put the grease near the ends so you don't have to touch it when disconnecting to move on, if you don't want grease on the jocky wheel/pad stand it in a bowl of water.They will not cross over grease. No they will not enter via the tyres, I have not got around to asking them why. Green Ants will not go inside a Van, they might crawl all around the edge of an Annex , up the guy ropes , and use the hose on the ground as a highway but they don't get inside.


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Thanks everyone we now have lots of ideas to try!
Cheers Elly

Talcum powder , just the cheap stuff , Ants big and small cannot walk on it , to an ant talcum powder is like a human walking on a field of ball bearings , water barriers dont always work as some ant build a bridge of their drowned to get to the other side ,,,,