Ants!!!

[pocomom]

Just got back from the Fort- we had a wonderful time and I'm getting ready to write a trip report but this little detail deserved extra attention. We stayed in the 400 loop. Within an hour of checkin we started seeing ants in our rv. My folks arrived the next day and within minutes my mom said there were ants in her rv too. One of our neighboors stopped by and said he was having a huge problems with ants in his rv too. Mom and I went out and bought some spray. we kept having an occassional outbreak but we would clean up, spray and it would hold them off- so I thought. When the trip was over we headed back north. One of the campgrounds we stayed at allows fires so I decided to pull out some wood from our rear storage - the logs were COVERED in ants! I mean they were Black hundreds and hundreds of ants. My rear storage area was completely infested. The wood was fine a day or two before so the ants that were onboard when we left must have decided to make it homebase. I can't begin to tell you how disgusting it is. I know some bugs are part of camping ...but yuck! I threw out all the food that was onboard because even though we had things in ziplocks and whatnot when I was unpacking we found about a dozen ants inside the bag of an unopened box of cereal too. We informed Disney but I don;t think they really understood the magnitude of the problem so be warned if you are staying at the fort bring your spray, keep everything spotless and don't think one or two of the buggers means you are ok!

 

[jeffrey66]

Did you travel from home with your own firewood and take it with you on the trip?

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Many RVers have learned from your lesson.
2) They now get carpet samples (the 2'x3').
3) The samples are impregnated with insecticide.
4) They are then placed under wheels or anything touching ground.
5) This stops all sorts of creepy-crawlers.
6) Also, they never haul wood, as it can contain all sorts of nasties.

 

[happycamper47]

10 to 1 you brought them from home in the firewood. I have never seen a "black" ant at the fort even around the garbage cans.

 

[retired and happy]

Oh yes! We had ants this Christmas for the first time ever at the Fort (1200 loop). They were mostly around the cabinets above the sink, though I was never able to track down a trail. Some food in those cabinets, which was not bothered, but the medicines for our kids were covered almost every day. I sprayed and cleaned and they were back the next day. Near the end of our trip I noticed they were going up and down the rear corner trim...still didn't find how they got up there, but more spray. I haven't noticed any since we got home. We did not carry firewood from home, or anything else that would have been a likely home, nor have we seen ants around home.

An Aside: Several years ago we visited our daughter in No. Alabama. We parked on a slab that had been the floor of her garage before a neighbor burned it down. We had ants there like never before, spraying and cleaning every day. On the way home I noticed some ants on the dash. On closer examination I found a mass of ants under the dash, hitching a ride to wherever we were going. Lots more spray took care of that problem.

 

[bama_ed]

Anytime we set up our popup,

we always, Always, ALWAYS sprinkle an all-around bug powder around anything touching the ground. 360 degrees around:

-both tires
-the front post
-all four crank down footings

we also have a spray can for the ELECTRICAL cable that goes to the utility box and the fresh water hose as well as the sewer hose.

All of these lessons were learned through the school of Hard Knocks!

(the ants looked like they were running a bucket brigade on my power cable one time).

Always buy the local firewood. Don't haul it.

Bama ED

 

[pocomom]

I definitely did not bring them from home in the firewood- it was in a sealed container on the way there and brought in my parent's truck, stayed in the truck for several days and then my dad gave it to me to use on our way home and it had been in a garage for months with no problems, and was bug free when I last saw it a couple of days before we left the fort. As a rule I don't transport firewood because of that beetle problem out west.
Plus there were no ants in our Rv at all until we got to disney- and other people in the loop had them. Pretty sure I didn't transport thousands of ants to Disney from the frozen mountains I came from, on a multiple week journey, without ever seeing a single one. The carpet samples are a good idea- my dad thought they were coming in from the tree which was brushing the roof of his rig, too. They were all over our golf carts too. (which we rented there). Disney was spraying the first campsite in the loop the day I left so hopefully they are handling it!

 

[jeffrey66]

Sorry to hear about the ant issues, hopefully they get that problem under control at the fort.

I agree with Bama Ed. Buy your firewood locally for two reasons. 1st - the environment, 2nd - possible steep fines. It is possible that a piece of frozen firewood from the north with dormant ants/beetles be transported to the warm southern states and thaw out bringing the destructive little buggers back to life. Just something to think about.

 

[2goofycampers]

Also to get rid of ants permanently you need bait. Spray only kills the ants you see. They take the bait back to their nest and it kills all of them off. The best brand to use is Terro.

http://www.victorpest.com/store/terro-insect-control/t300

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Has anyone used Terro Ant baits while camping? This is what I use at home, and since I am new to camping, just wondering if there is a reason why they would be a bad idea?

At home I have found the Terro to be really effective. I had a steady stream of ants in my kitchen, and 20 hours after placing the Terro, they were completely gone!

bama_ed, What kind of bug powder do you use? I have seen sprays, never powders. Do you know the brand off hand?

 

[2goofycampers]

We keep Terro in the TT at all times. Had to use it twice, once at The Fort and once locally. You can also use boric acid as a deterrent around your tires etc.

 

[articfox676]

We had a few ants at the Fort over the holidays but nothing as bad as reported here. Sprayed the trailer when we got home. This has happened before at the Fort and other campgrounds. They come along with the trees and nature.

 

[North of Mouse]

Have never even SEEN an ant at FW in the 40 years we have camped there.
Nor have we ever had a problem with them anywhere else. Did get a mouse in the Smoky Mountains - set traps, got 3 in all - now keep one set *just in case*

Wow, makes me think we *should* bring some type of deterrent to put around our tires/hoses/lines. That would be awful.

 

[~Kristina~]

Our 12/2011 trip on loop 200 also resulted in ants in our camper - we didn't bring wood.

 

[patches4me]

Oh yes! We had ants this Christmas for the first time ever at the Fort (1200 loop). They were mostly around the cabinets above the sink, though I was never able to track down a trail. Some food in those cabinets, which was not bothered, but the medicines for our kids were covered almost every day. I sprayed and cleaned and they were back the next day. Near the end of our trip I noticed they were going up and down the rear corner trim...still didn't find how they got up there, but more spray. I haven't noticed any since we got home. We did not carry firewood from home, or anything else that would have been a likely home, nor have we seen ants around home.

An Aside: Several years ago we visited our daughter in No. Alabama. We parked on a slab that had been the floor of her garage before a neighbor burned it down. We had ants there like never before, spraying and cleaning every day. On the way home I noticed some ants on the dash. On closer examination I found a mass of ants under the dash, hitching a ride to wherever we were going. Lots more spray took care of that problem.

First time ever, we had ants at the Fort. We come every year for the past 15 years, and this was the very first time. We do not carry firewood. Actually, this was the first time since we've been camping for over 30 years that we had ants at all! I thought it was strange for FW but now that I read your posts, must have been a bad year.

 

[bama_ed]

bama_ed, What kind of bug powder do you use? I have seen sprays, never powders. Do you know the brand off hand?

I went down and looked in the camper. It is a green tube of Ortho "Ants B Gone" and i got it at either Home Depot Or WalMart. Another i have used is Sevin powder.

Bama ED

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

Borax mixed with a little sugar is the best ant killer ever!

 

[retired and happy]

That mix also works on roaches and probably a lot of other nuisance bugs. It can be put in a jar lid or other small container and placed in an out of the way location where bugs are likely to frequent.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Borax mixed with a little sugar is the best ant killer ever!

I have heard this too, and tried it for my ant problem at home, but I didn't have a lot of luck. The ants were attracted to it, but they just kept coming. The Terro knocked them out in less than 24 hours!


Is there a specific ratio or borax to sugar you should use?

My husband doesn't like he idea of the bait "attracting" the ants, but I found it so effective, that I will use it anyway if I see them.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

I went down and looked in the camper. It is a green tube of Ortho "Ants B Gone" and i got it at either Home Depot Or WalMart. Another i have used is Sevin powder.

Bama ED

Thank you, I will look for it!