Help!! Ant's in the trailer.

[Abagpiper5]

My wife went out to the trailer this afternoon and found 50 or so dead ants. They seemed to be under the A/C unit on the floor and a bunch on the Sofa.
After looking are bit harder, I found a few more dead ones in the Lights on the ceiling. There also seemed to be some plastic dust on the floor under the A/C unit with the dead ones. After sweeping them all out I opened up the inside A/C filters to find more dead ants and plastic filings. We also discovered a few in random cabinets and draws.

I do have a few ant traps in the unit, and with all this rain we have been getting in the North-east, I was wondering what I should be doing to protect our Trailer.

Thanks,

 

[2goofycampers]

These products are great, we especailly like the liquid bait.



http://www.terro.com/

 

[4mickey2]

we got them in one of our truck campers. we bought the ant baits and put them in every outside compartment and in the camper where the dogs wouldn't get into them. you just never know if they will take one and chew it up. it worked for us. now, when we go up north to our land we sprinkle diazonon around the wheels, etc. and just watch the dogs really close.

 

[ob1quixote]

I had a rental property where the ants would go into the AC unit and eat at the wires. I guess there was something in the insulation that they got nourishment from. Amdro did wonders, a few times a year. If the tenant didnt keep up with the treatment, an AC service call was soon to be needed. Dont know what was in the wiring to attract the ant, but I ended up adding a treatment clause into the lease! {I supplied the Amdro, they just had to apply it}

Maybe a heavy application around the tires and tongue jack would pick them off before they got inside?

 

[ob1quixote]

duplicate

 

[auntie]

Just be sure the ants aren't a symptom of a bigger problem..like a leak. That's what happened to us. We found we had an issue with carpenter ants when we had our trailer on a seasonal site in upstate NY. Once we brought the trailer home we were able to locate the reason for the ants..a wet piece of wood on the frame in a back bathroom closet. Fixed the leak(where the ladder was attached to the trailer)..dried out the wood..ants gone. Fortunately...it was a bathroom closet so there wasn't any visable damage done to the living area of the trailer. They were disgusting..once they get in..they make their way through the entire rig walking on the wiring in the walls. Gross.

 

[Pirate-Jeff]

One summer we stayed in pigeon forge Tenn, Where it rained so hard I thought Noah was coming. So the ants invaded the new MH. They crawled up the sewer pipe,electric cord,water hose, coax cable and tires to escape the rain. after many cans of ant killer they were gone. The couple camping next to us had no troubles with the ants but everyone else in the park had ants after that monsoon rain. He sprayed Ortho's home defense around his hoses at both ends while he was setting up on arrival and supported his connections up on his sewer pipe bridge. Where his hoses enter the MH was under the MH so the rain didn't wash the home defence off. He also sprayed the tires. Said he learned this trick at Ocean lakes in the Carolinas where the Fire ants are thick. He sprayed my hook ups and tires. We had no more ant problems even with the heavy rain we had every afternoon for the rest of the 2 weeks we were there. Now I carry a gallon of home defence and keep my connections (hoses,cords and cable) up off the ground.

 

[des1954]

What kind of ants do you have? If they're the tiny, wee little ones, known as pharhoh ants, sugar ants or piss ants, then Terro should do the trick. If they are the larger carpenter ants, I highly recommend Bayer Carpenter Ant and Termite Killer Plus. Both are readily available at hardware stores like THD. I've used both & trust me when I say they work. Once you get rid of them in the coach, surround the ground around your unit with powdered boric acid (available at Walgreens, CVS, THD) paying particular attention to the area where the water & electricity come into the coach. If you have a sewer line, sprinkle boric acid powder around that, too.

All of these chemicals are safe for use around children and pets. It'll take persistance, but you will get rid of these unwanted critters.

Good luck!

PS. If these products don't work, see if the zoo will loan you their aardvark.

 

[mrsscooter]

These posts are good to know. We have the tiny ants also, not many, but enough to be irritating. I already bought the little plastic ant discs, and they seem to be working, but I like the idea of an outside preventative. I will be passing this along to the hubby and making sure that we add some home defense to the camper supply closet.

 

[Abagpiper5]

They seem to be the carpenter ants, and I think they may be falling from the trees.

After reading some of these suggestions, I am planning on setting off a fogger/bug bomb first. I am thinking that will get into any cracks and areas that the wires run thru, as I did find dead ones in the light fixtures.

I am also going to leave a few more traps and do the granules around the unit. The only thing is that it is parked in my driveway that is paved. I will also try spraying the tires and under carriage of the unit. My next question would be if there is anything I should do about the roof, it’s a rubber membrane type.