Exterior Ants

mikerezny

Well-Known Member
Sep 11, 2016
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Mount Waverley, VIC
Hi,
On our Penguin, I just discovered a trail of small black ants coming along the concrete driveway, up a block of wood the hitch is resting on, along the A-frame and seemed to be pooling around the corners under the roof.

As far as I can tell, none have got inside the van.

Since I am new to owning a van, is this something quite common and I should be on the lookout for?

Has anyone else had ants trying to hitch a free ride on their van?

Can anyone suggest what I should, and just as importantly, what I should not do to deter the little beggars?

At the moment, I have squashed all the ants I could find and sprayed the wooden block and A-frame with insect repellent (before the can ran out). I am reluctant to spray on the fibreglass or body in case it causes damage to the surface.

regards
Mike
 

Bushman

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Nov 9, 2010
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Wollondilly Shire NSW
Yep we.ve had problems with ants in the past and present also wasps nesting under the van at home, as for the ant first point as you have already done is to spray the frame also spray anything that comes into contact with the ground when at home or at camp, using talcum powder around wheels and legs will deter them or use Ant Sand which they carry back to the nest and bingo kills the little bastards,
Ditch the block of wood under your drawer bar us the jockey wheel or a stand, place the stand/wheel in shallow tray of water and keep it topped up do the same for each leg when van is in use, 150mm PVC pipe end caps come in handy for this.

I think our van may of had a nest in the frame, had ants at home sprayed inside clean them up no ants, went away set up bingo ants back in same place but not come from outside that we could see, last trip away no ants in sight inside or out, put down an empty can on bed head and fell asleep, woke about half hour later and the little buggers were back straight to the can, coming from top of bedhead, but nothing outside, even found then in the hatch for the toilet cassette, so now have Ant-Rid in bottle tops in a few places in the van. so far so good.,

Now I just have to spot the bloody spiders and wasps nesting underneath, have heard a product called Lano-Tec sprayed underneath can help with this,
As our van is usually plugged to mains while at home I'm going the get one of those electronic gizmos from Pest Free Ive had good results from one of these in the house in the past and need a new one so will give it ago. in the van also
 

Bellbirdweb

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Jan 24, 2014
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Sydney
The only thing I have found that was is a product that was recommended by another member on here who was in the pest control industry.

It is called Advion Ant. Every time I see the little buggers I put some of this gel in their path and they lap it up.

It seems to take a few feeds but I think you will win eventually if you keep it up.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ADVION-A...602645?hash=item4d53ee3815:g:QesAAOSwLEtYiSlc
 

Dobbie

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Jun 18, 2014
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Yep. I got some of this as well and used it for about four months in the house.

Sorry, for us it no real effect except for the first few days...then the little horrors came back....we persisted for a few months then gave up.

It's expensive stuff the Advion....almost as expensive as getting the pest people in.

and now we get the guys to spray the van as well as the house.....so far, so good.

And we carry a can of spray but use it sparingly ....mainly around the legs....and avoid the canvas

It's strange in the north when you go into,a caravan park site and often see circles of powder on the ground...left by previous visitors to stop the ants.
 

dagree

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Mar 3, 2012
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Perth. WA
Also use ant powder on any part of the van that touches the ground (Jockey wheel, legs, hoses, cables etc) and carry a spray bottle of liquid ant rid just in case!

Had all the "protection" in place one time and found a line of the little bugga's crawling along the front above the bed end..... Spent a good half hour walking around the van (outside and in) trying to find where they were coming from..... Then looked up and lo and behold the little sh!tes were dropping down from a tree branch onto the roof and looking for a way down to the ground.... Out with the ladder and a good spray of the branch and surrounding areas and no more issue!
 

bigcol

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Nov 22, 2012
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Swan Valley Perth
many years of having lunch next to a massive ants nest at work in the Pilbarra

you know they dont like processed cheese (coles ect sandwich slices) or Margarine, but love butter and block cheese
with Margarine, they will pick it up and carry it away from their nest

they like Hungarian & German Salami, but dont like Pepperoni - but will take in not much other food around

as a kid, I have poured molten lead into a nest to see the strange designs when you dig them out, as well as filling with petrol and setting it off


yeah, I like to play with Ants
 

Pauline

Member
Dec 10, 2016
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Perth
Mmmm sounds like you have looooong lunch breaks to study them so well lol. Where about's in the Pilbara are you working? We worked in Newman for a while and spent our R & R in Port Hedland. We haven't been hassled with ants so far in this van but quite a few years ago we bought a used van and unbeknown to us it was riddled with the little blighters. We ended up getting the pest control out to spray to fix the problem. Talc and ant granules are a must in our van these days. I didn't realise it was the smell of the talc that confuses them. So thanks for the advice. Once they enter they tend to want to stay a while.....
 

Dean Anderson

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Feb 7, 2014
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Isaac Region
When they get in its a nightmare.....Luckily out first van was the learning ground... As soon as you see first signs deal with it... Surface spray somewhere on the pathway up the metal parts (eg suspension). Use antrid in the van...Ant sand all around where the van is parked 2m radius. Dont park on the ground (grass) steel is the best.

Forget about insect bombs....and prey......

Unfortunately you need.to be dilligent aswell... inspect every week or so.

Make your van undesirable.....when the queen moves in.....you have to starve her to death.....

They be robust little critters those tiny black ones.
 

bigcol

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Nov 22, 2012
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Mmmm sounds like you have looooong lunch breaks to study them so well lol. Where about's in the Pilbara are you working? We worked in Newman for a while and spent our R & R in Port Hedland.

I first lernt about the Ants smelling where they go in Karratha, when I worked in a Caravan Park in the late 80's - and that Baby powder is good and cheap

long lunch breaks (1hr) working on the edge of The Great Sandy Desert at a mine site, currently in Perth thinking about going back to Mining

as soon as the Van gets home, I'm off around the legs and wheels putting powder down, as @Dean Anderson said, once the Queen gets in, they are a mongrel to get out again
 

Drover

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Nov 7, 2013
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For a short stay powder or spray legs, wheels anything touching ground, longer stays powder the legs and spray wheels and underneath van for anything that crawls. Don't park under tree's either, have had to spray roof on odd occasion as they were dropping from branches.
 

Bellbirdweb

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Jan 24, 2014
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Sydney
For a short stay powder or spray legs, wheels anything touching ground, longer stays powder the legs and spray wheels and underneath van for anything that crawls. Don't park under tree's either, have had to spray roof on odd occasion as they were dropping from branches.
Our van lives under trees at home, so its a never ending battle for us.

We do seem to have success with the Advion Ant however, I just keep putting it out whenever I see them
 

bigcol

Well-Known Member
Nov 22, 2012
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you will always know when its going to rain, if the Ants start looking to get into your house / ect, also if you "all of a sudden" start to see thousands of them gathering food

you know its going to be a lot of rain if they are heading for higher ground - roofs ect
 

mikerezny

Well-Known Member
Sep 11, 2016
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Mount Waverley, VIC
Hi,
thanks for all the tips. Looks like ants are a definite problem at times, so I will have to keep a sharp eye on them.

Fortunately, we have been lucky this time. After killing all that I could find initially on the first day (200-300 of the little charmers) I only found about 20 more wandering about the outside of the van over the next couple of days and no sign of any on the ground trying to get up onto the A-frame (sprayed with some Coles airborne insect killer, all I had at the time).
Became a fan of the Coles surface spray for getting rid of European wasps.

Just spent three days camping and not a single ant was seen on the Penguin either inside or out. Phew!!!

Now have new cans of both Coles Airborne and Surface sprays. Need to buy another can of surface spray for the Penguin. But we now also carry talcum powder. Thanks for this great tip.

cheers
Mike
 
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