hints for getting rid of ants in caravans

mariner · Member

hints for getting rid of ants in caravans

Sheba · Guru

Welcome mariner. If you hit the search button, then type in Keep out Ants, you'll get at least 4 threads to check out. Changing the wording slightly might get you more.

Cheers,

Sheba.

Hylda&Jon · Guru

Have you tried typing 'ants' in the search bar up top of the page in the middle?

Cheers

Jon

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Ant sand works well if you sprinkle it under or near the outside of the van, but be aware that it is toxic to pets.

-- Edited by Gerty Dancer on Thursday 29th of November 2012 09:45:33 AM

jimricho · Guru

Regarding the search engine more generally I find using Google and including "thegreynomads" in the search works better than the flakey search engine on this site.

jan-ed · Veteran Member

I made the mistake of lending our van before this one, to my daughter and her two small children.
I stressed to her to please be careful not to leave any foodscraps lying on the floor because of ants.

Well the van was handed back with half eaten biscuits hidden under the seats, a half eaten pear in the oven,
so guess what....ants by the hundreds!!

Because it was our "home" (we had been away house sitting) i needed to get rid of them quick so i used the old "ant rid."
They came from everywhere to eat it and a couple of days later, we finally got rid of them.

We have just bought another van and guess what ....more ants. It must of been parked on top of an ant hill,
because when we got it home and walked into the van, we must of shaken their nests, because we had ants and dirt come out from behind the walls !!Could have cried!!

Once again the ant rid came out and we have finally got rid of them again!
We are just about to move back into the van full time....so before we do...i am going to buy an ant bomb!!! (just to make sure)

good luck getting rid of your travelling companions.
cheers Jan

***oh and needless to say....the daughter wont be getting a lend of this van!!

Roving-Dutchy · Guru

Ant sand obtainable from the supermarket works extremely well, if you are parked in an ant infested location, just sprinkle on the ground all around where you are parked and in a very short time all the ants are gone, must be replenished after heavy rain, the unknown brand is just as good as Mortein and comes packaged in a larger quantity and cheaper price, have also used it where the ants were falling out of a tree and running around the awning so just sprinkled sand onto the awning and they were soon gone.
Cheers
David

Duh · Guru

I have always found Ant Rid (liquid) on a flat lid inside the van to be best, I also had a friend with a motorhome and the ants had nested inside the metal panels of his MH and the ant rid did the job without having to remove the panels.

Ant dust is good under the van where the rain can't get to it, or some people sprinkle talcum powder around legs/leads etc outside.

I always used insect surface spray on my van legs/leads/jockey etc outside to deter them.

BE CAREFUL WITH INSECT BOMBS, the was a case of a caravan blew up when one ignited. The can be ignited by pilot lights or electrical starters on fridges etc so all gas needs to be turned off at bottles and power also, see;

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/fogger.htm

http://here.doh.wa.gov/materials/bug-bombs-overkill-can-be-dangerous/24_BugBombs_E07L.pdf

Duh · Guru

Good point Gerty, same as snail killer......

When my caravavan was parked up I would put some of those ant baits in cupboards, on benches etc as well as some ant rid.

I can related to those ants blowing or falling off trees someone mentioned, especially peppermint trees, they are like paratroopers landing on the van roof and awning.... furious

gunnago · Senior Member

We always sprinkle baby powder round wheels and steps and anywhere we see them works for us

the rocket · Guru

hello I'm feelin your pain. We had this same problem and this is what we did.Cleaned van from top to bottom. Bought "ant rid" and put it on alfoil where the ants had their highway and they climbed onto the alfoil and ate the ant rid. when using this make sure there is nothing else in the van for them to eat so when they get hungry this is all they have to nibble on. Also got feet for the stabilizer legs and added water and put the jockey wheel in water and sprayed all leads coming into the van and annexe. and made sure nothing like grass touched the van and also sprayed the wheels with insect killer. Also stopped parking under trees cos the ants drop off onto the roof. Result: no more ants. yahoooo

sarg · Guru

A friend of mine who travels for most of each year tells me to get one of those spray bottles from the dollar shop and some lanoline ....then spray all under the van ....Stops everything and anything from climbing up onto your van....sounds easy and safe.

neilnruth · Guru

Regarding the search engine - is it any better now we have a new website?

patrolst · Senior Member

We have always used "Crawly Cruncher" (pick it up at the super market) and if ants are bad use a small amount of Borax & Honey in a beer bottle top or just smear it with your finger in the ants pathway they will take it back to the nest and this will solve your problem. (Works for us).

Be very careful if using the borax & honey, as it is toxic to pets.

Regards Jim