Well, we've been through some stuff, and I can honestly say that this one issue is making me want to move out of this RV and back into the condo:-(
I'm sure it will pass but for now, I'm just FINISHED.
I made a post about fire ants the other week, but we found out they were carpenter ants. In the other campground they were just....everywhere. All in the under storage compartment, and obviously living in an area we could not get to at all. From there, they were coming up from under the carpet, under the bedroom slide. The worst thing about them other than the damage and the creep factor is the SMELL. They reek....it odor makes me feel sick to my stomach. This is how we actually found the area of their nest....I sniffed them out!
And so one night while on the computer, I hear a THUMP....and turn to see my cat staring at something on the ground....his back all arched. There, I saw one of them....obviously had bit him. I flipped out, and decided to take everything out of the under storage area. I see them crawling in and out of the area we can't get to. At this point, I am just livid, and that's when I noticed on the other side of the storage compartment, there are a whole bunch of those small sugar ants, all around the wood behind the outdoor shower. I will also mention that this wood has been kind of moldy looking since after a month of having the brand new unit. Another issue we have to deal with....
So as I am cleaning around, Bryan comes out the RV freaking out about one of my purses left on the ground, near where Theodore was attacked! I had moved the contents from that purse to anothe about 5 days earlier, and had left it by the door. He brought it outside, and when we opened it, there were HUNDREDS of massive carpenter ants, all going nuts! I had left a piece of candy in there and they had sniffed it out....they all started coming out of the air intake vent after it!
It was a nightmare. We threw the purse in a bucket of water, and I got a golf club. At this point, the anger came out and I was just hitting the purse in the water with the golf club like a lunatic in the dark. They all ran up eachother trying to get out, it was absolutly DISGUSTING, and straight out of a horror movie! I have never seen so many ants in my life. It took me ages to clean them out of the purse after, all dead and clinging onto the fabric with their pinchers. I didn't eat for two days after, and was feeling quite ill for a while:-(
So anyway, I figured we had drown a lot of what used to be inside the RV.
The only problem were the smaller ants. Sugar ants I am guessing....more and more seemed to be inside. We moved RV parks, and one day later, I found about 200 on the window ledge, crawling in and out of the crack where you close the window. I flip out and vacumn the area until there are no more (then sprayed it with rubbing alcohol!). I go outside with a flashlight and find that the drainage holes are like a front door to these things, so I'm out there with a flashlight and the fumes sealing up these holes with caulking. No more ants by the windows anymore, or crawling all over the walls, so I take out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and spend about 6-7 hours, scrubbing every surface area in the place. No more trails to follow I figure....but my lungs are a mess, and I'm near passing out. We didn't dare open any windows for the buggers, so lets just say the fumes caused a massive headache!
So now today, I wake up thinking that the problem is solved, but of course, it's not. The ants are coming up the cracks where the stairs to the bedroom meet the wall. I go underneath to the storage area and sure enough there is more. That's when we get out the Terro bait, and put it near the rotting wood area. In about an hour, we go down to check it out, and are HORRIFIED!
There are THOUSANDS of them. Highways and roads of them going all across the area....into the pipes, into the walls....everywhere. They also have a nice lineup going along the outside of the RV, so I follow the line, which they have made along ridges and caulking, to an area underneath the unit. The ridge looks all 'bunched up' and there is no caulking on it....and they are just marching right on in! Another area to fix, so Bryan takes care of it.
I am trying to resist the urge to vaccum them all up. I can't stand the thought of having dead poisioned ants in the walls.
So, I am wondering....how often does this happen to everyone? I'm afraid that when we 'get rid' of these ones, it's just going to happen again.
How many of you all take preventative measures? How often do you have an ant problem this severe? Anyone with a KZ Escalade have problems with little areas that they can come in?
For instance, right now, Bryan discovered about 70 ants all over our carpeted step to the front door. When I looked at how they got there (but I still cannot figure out WHY they are swarming there!), I found lines of them walking on a metal support at the bottom of the RV, connected to the steps, that CLEARLY goes directly into the storage area. There is no blockage, no caulking. The area is basically open underneath to the outside. And the inside of this RV is opened up to the storage. How many of you have this problem?
I am at a loss, and I'm really wondering if I am ready to deal with this any longer. I have my face up at the window, because the smell of them is driving me insane and making me feel very sick....
I've been in a rage, and then I had a nice cry. But now, I am exhausted, and I'd give anything to move into somewhere clean without this horrific smell.
:-(
Our beautiful Escalade is ruined, never to be the same....and I am questioning whether this was all a good idea or not....
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Fulltiming since July 2006 with fiance Bryan, cat Theodore Mittens and 2 bratty cockatiels Charlie and Cocoa in our 2007 KZ Escalade KSB, and 2006 Chevy Silverado 3500!
See ya out there!
Wow in all of years of RVing we've never had a problem like you've described. If it were me in the same situation, I'd end up calling the local exterminator to fumigate the trailer. Take Theodore Mittens for a road trip while the expert does his magic. How to prevent in the future, I have no idea. Hopefully some other forum members will have some viable solution. Good luck!
You have my sympathy and understanding.
Now that you have VENTED...
Look for some good poisons (YOU WILL NEED TO KEEP KITTY LOCKED UP) and I sprinkle or put the bait (depends on the type you get) along all openings (windows, doors and such) also along the edge of walls, counters, etc. It took a few days but we got rid of all the sugar ants we had in our house and "knock on wood" they have not come back. After a few days I was able to throw the baits away and vacuum up the powder.
We now spray around the tires and hose / cord connectors to prevent any more intruders. I also like to check the site BEFORE we pull in to avoid any obvious infestations.
Good luck.
Get some Ajax powered cleanser. Sprinkle around all your tires, water hose, powercord and sewer drain hose. Anything that leads into the RV or vehicles. Anything that leads up and into the vehicle. Looks funny, white all over the ground, but IT DOES keep the ants OUT side.
I have used this method in the past and it does work.
Wow, what a nightmare. Where were you camped, what state and town? Surely not near Toronto, we've camped there several times, but maybe just lucky? I do NOT want to go near where ever you are. We've never had ants in over 150,000 RV miles, and would like to keep it that way.
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Lovely German Shepherd.
1999 Mercedes ML320 TV
2003 Wanderer 187TB Toybox (3620# UVW, 4800# loaded) Not yet camped in Hawaii, 2 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories. I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going
We'd like to keep poison only to the under storage area....so we have the bait in there now.
Hopefully it's not attracting any more in!
Can they track it inside the RV at all? What if my cat eats the ants?
I have no idea about this kind of stuff.
We did the comet thing. Doesn't work at all:-( We bought some of those Terro chip things that you spread about. They walk right over it!
Where we are now, there are mostly sugar ants. Nothing like the place we were before. We have a concrete slab. I am hoping no more come in....
I am wondering if the thousands of them (the nest) travelled with us to where we are now.
I just have no idea....
About an exterminator....don't you have to leave for a couple of days? Bryan doesn't want to spend the money to go to a hotel, and is sure the bait will do it. What about the chemicals from that stuff? Wouldn't I have to move everything out of here? I am guessing you have to clean up everything later....I'm a clean/neat freak and it sounds like more work than I can handle....especially since I just sterizlized the entire place.
Hopefully the bait works. Please, everyone, let me know if you've had this problem. I need to know what to expect from RVing. I can't have this keep happening....
I thought we'd found the perfect life! But I can't live that life with these things crawling on me while I'm watching TV....or squeezing their way into the fridge. Yup, they are doing that now, lovely huh!
Diazinon is the killer of choice. The granules are carried back to the nest where it kills them all. You can get it at any hardware store or home and garden shop. Recently we were camping at a COE campground and noticed a lot of the units had something sprinkled around the wheels, jacks etc. I asked a neighbor what it was and he said comet the household cleaner. Apparently ants will not cross the line of comet. On the water hose, sewer hose and electric wire they put on a ring of Vaseline which stopped them at that point. I sure hope this helps you. I would sprinkle the Diazinon around and under the unit to kill the ones and their nests that are there now and try the comet, vaseline to keep them at bay. Good Luck
Chuck&Gail wrote: Wow, what a nightmare. Where were you camped, what state and town? Surely not near Toronto, we've camped there several times, but maybe just lucky? I do NOT want to go near where ever you are. We've never had ants in over 150,000 RV miles, and would like to keep it that way.
No, not in Toronto! It was in Manatee Hammock, in Titusville FL. The ranger there said it was common all over Florida. Wondering if this is true:-(
How does one get TWO different species taking over? In the same area too....it's bizzare to me. I've read up a lot on ants, and carpenter ants in particular do not like other ants in their area!
radardog wrote: Diazinon is the killer of choice. The granules are carried back to the nest where it kills them all. You can get it at any hardware store or home and garden shop. Recently we were camping at a COE campground and noticed a lot of the units had something sprinkled around the wheels, jacks etc. I asked a neighbor what it was and he said comet the household cleaner. Apparently ants will not cross the line of comet. On the water hose, sewer hose and electric wire they put on a ring of Vaseline which stopped them at that point. I sure hope this helps you. I would sprinkle the Diazinon around and under the unit to kill the ones and their nests that are there now and try the comet, vaseline to keep them at bay. Good Luck
Thanks for the advice. The comet didn't work for us, but that vaseline thing I've heard of before....and sounds like a fantastic idea.....!
Ants need food to live, make sure everything edible is sealed up in jars, bags, etc. Believe it or not you can outlast them.
You did the right thing by moving to another campground (I warned you), but you will have to be vigilant for a while. You may have to move again.
You can use poison, but you risk the health of your pet(s) doing so. Poison doesn't care who it harms, and it will always be lingering in your coach, forever. One of my dogs actually likes the taste of ants (go figure), the last thing I would want to do is have dead, poisoned ants laying about.
Signed: Ex-Florida ant survivor
PS: Diazinon will kill almost ALL known insects, far from a killer of choice. Read the lable you'll see a VERY strong dis-claimer. I know, I sell the stuff.
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