I have owned a couple of TT's/Fivers, and it never fails... Those little black "sugar ants" seem to find their way into the trailer and crawl around on the counters and stove areas. I clean like crazy, but they seem to really love the trailer.
There are many "chemical" solutions to the problem, but I have found a few things that keep 'em out and are all-natural. I know I am not the only one with this problem, so I thought I would share with the group:
To keep them out in the first place, when you drop your trailer at a site, spray straight vinegar in a circle around all four tires and your jacks/stands. Also, any areas where your hose and electrical cable touch the ground.
If you find them inside the trailer, buy a small container of Bay Leaves. Break the dried Bay Leaf in half and place on each corner of your countertop, near the stove, etc... (anywhere you see them). Ants HATE bayleaf.
No chemicals to worry about around the little ones or the pets, and the bay leaf scent is not overpowering.
Just thought I would share this with you. HAPPY CAMPING, everyone.
z
Steve Zibilich & Krewe...
DW, and three not-so-little-ones.
One in college, one in high school & one in jr. high
2006 Colorado 32QB-M5-BS 5'er with three slides
2006 Chevrolet 1500 HD 4-door, 6.0 liter Gas, 2WD
2003 Triumph 170CC Center Console Bay Boat
We have had excellent results with Grant's Ant Bait Stations. I guess the ants are attracted to the stuff enclosed in the tiny container, then carry it off to their nests. At any rate, the stuff works, and fast. Never tried bay leaf for ants but it does prevent roaches.
Husband: Derek
Dog: Bucky
RV: 2000 Aerolite 19RB TT
TV: 1996 Chevrolet Blazer 6 cyl. 4WD
This car used to be our toad, now is our TV!
I keep trying to get the word out about ants, so I'll try again. A few years ago I read a very short article in Bird Talk Magazine about a very environmentally safe way to get rid of ants. It does not hurt any other animal except ants. Birds are very sensitive to any chemical. Almost all chemicals will kill pet birds, so ants in the home of people who have pet birds is a real problem. You just can use chemicals against the ants in the home.
The author of the article said to use dried molasses. The author had horses on a horse farm and she noticed around the feed troughs for the horses and cows there were never any ants. Further investigation found out it was the dried molasses that was added to the horse feed. Dried molasses is a sweetener and a supplement that is added to the regular horse feed.
It comes, usually in 50 pound bags from places that sell farm feeds. So, you'll need to find a feed store or a feed "elevator".
Inside the house, you put a cap full of the dried molasses (like a Pepsi plastic bottle cap, or a beer bottle cap), and put it in a spot where ants congregate.
One thing I found out, it took about 2 years to kill out the ants completely. Because every where the ants broke out, a few weeks later they'd break out in a different spot in the house. So, eventually, we put little caps of molasses on each cabinet shelf, in each corner of every room in the house, and sprinkled the foundation of the house all the way around the house.
I also had some gigantic ant hills in the yard and started throwing a coffee can amount right on the ant hill. Within days, the ants disappeared.
I refreshed the molasses about once a month. But the ants kind of disappear in the winter, so I'd slack up. Then in the spring they break out again. More molasses.
The ants do leave the area where the molasses is immediately. They don't like it for some reason. The theory is, the ants eat the molasses, it gets in their belly and expands and they blow up. But not before they take it back to their colony. Once they "blow up" and die, other ants feed off them and they die too. Eventually it gets to the queen. Once the queen is dead, no more eggs, no more ants ... permanently!
It worked so well for us, I started sprinkling the foundation of both neighbors homes that live on both sides of us. It killed out the ants in their yard too.
Now, in the spring, I always get a 50 pound back and just sprinkle it all around the foundation of the house and through the yard, just like spreading grass fertilizer.
Dried molasses will not hurt birds, pets, squirrel, or any other critters. It's safe for human consumption (it won't hurt you if you eat it. I tried eating it, but I sure wouldn't want it on my breakfast cereal!) And it smells VERY nice when you put it in your yard! It puts a really sweet aroma in the air for about 2 days.
Rain will soak it in the ground. And if you "fertilize" the yard again after a rain, the molasses begins to get into the ground, creating a barrier the ants really don't like to pass through and will kill them off.
If you sprinkle the molasses around your camper, under the camper, and around your yard, and repeat again in about a month, and do it a month later again, I've got a feeling you'll not have an ant problem for a long time.
Good luck.
DutchmenSport
2005 Chevy Silverado 3500 Dually Duramax 6.6L V8 Turbo
Century Truck Cap Commercial /Toolboxes
Northeast Outfitters Canoe
Terro Killer, we've been using it for years. We had a ant problem in Goshen at our "summer/storage duplex". Ants were invading the kitchen bay window ledge/sill. We picked up some of the Terro ant "trays" about 3/4" wide 1/2" high by 3 inches long. We opened two up and put them in the "run" the ants were using. AT first it was one ant in the tray, then none, then a few came back, then none, then a bunch, then none, then another bunch, then no ants for the rest of the summer. It took about a day and a half to get rid of them. It was almost like the little guys were going back home saying "this stuff is great, come on and try it!"
'06 Phaeton 40' QSH
'03 Ford Sport Trac
Scottiemom's Pet
Husband to Dale
2 Traveling Scotties RV.net Rallies 11, Other Rallies 9, Escapades 5
2005 F/T Class Our Travel Blog Where are we?
I heard that Comet sprinkled where any part of the rig touches the ground will work. Borax is a safe way to treat for ants. You can use 20 Mule team. It is safe, effective and cheap.
I have been using those ant bait traps since I moved down here in Florida. They go in there, eat the bait, come out and die. The problem here is I am cleaning up 100's of dead ants off my counter a few times a day.
Theres got to be a better way!
Ill still take the ants over the snow any day.
Mix 50/50 Borax and table sugar ,spread around trailer wheels jacks ,wire leads ,look for ant hill or hole around your trailer ,if found put large supply near entrance , Ants can not tell horax from sugar and will take home to nest with in a day or two no more andts. Skipper entry level over fifty years
99 DCTD 3500 5spd quad line-x Pac-brake. boost,egt,fuel gauges /26ft 95 American star 5thwheel w/1slide
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