YIKES! Sugar ants everywhere this morning...

Been out on the Rincon Parkway in Ventura, CA for the past three days. Beautiful by the way. Woke up this morning to make coffee and sugar ants are running around on the counter, up the door and pretty much everywhere near the sink and stove.

Walked around the coach and can not see any trail where they are getting in. I know they make a non toxic ant killing spray that is counter kitchen safe. But perplexed as to how the little buggers are getting in. Was drinking America Honey whiskey outside last night, but not sure that was an invitation to enter our coach. Never a problem in the past. Pretty perplexed as to how they got in. What do ya think??

If you don't have pets, mix 80% sugar and 20% Borax (the dry laundry softener). Moisten a bit to make a paste. Place in areas the ants will find it.

The ants will swarm all over it. Taking it back to their nest. 24~36 hours later there will be no ants.

If you get ants that are going for grease or other proteins and ignoring the sugar, use peanut butter or bacon grease with the Borax to make a paste.


Some of the best ideas I know for killing ants and other insects, I found on a PETA website. They were discussing what NOT to use because it would be inhumane to the insects.

I lived in Ventura for 30 years and never had a problem with ants. You need to find their entry point and put the ant spray there. Just be glad they are not inside your printer.

Yes ants are a real pain.  If you could close every access point that they could possibly get in (impossible) you'd need to wear oxygen bottles inside...haha.  Obviously they get access anywhere something touches the ground, tongue jack, stabilizer jacks, hoses, electric cord, etc.  Some people try to spray or dust all those areas.  I don't unless I see they are coming up one of those places.  I have good luck with the odorless Home Defense spray product but I don't use it unless we have an ant problem.  The best solution is to keep the counter clean and anything sweet clean, closed tight or put in a Ziploc bag.  With the Home Defense product if we get ants we clean up the area, spray the area and then wipe the spay up with paper towels but don't wash it with water for a day or two.  Also spray and wipe off any ant lines you find...inside and out.  Works good.

I have tried various things like vinegar, ammonia (bad!), etc. with no luck.  One time we had about what you described and as we were cleaning up and friend came by.  When she heard that we had ants she went to her trailer and brought back a bottle of dried Bay leaves and said for us to spread them around wherever the ants were...to my surprise it worked, no more ants.  We now keep a few Bay leaves here and there and in the cabinets over and under the sink.  Seems to work...no ants for a long time!

Good Luck!   

Tom, I've read where the borax/sugar mixture will also kill cockroaches.

kdbgoat said:

Tom, I've read where the borax/sugar mixture will also kill cockroaches.

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The biggest problem is not how to kill them but to find out where they are coming from.

Once I had ants coming up my electrical cord and into the rig, so I thought I'd stop them by coating a section of the cord with Vaseline.

This worked for a while, then the next day I discovered the ants had built a road through the sticky mess by walking over their stuck brethren and using some twigs and dirt to widen the pathway.

Lou Schneider said:

Once I had ants coming up my electrical cord and into the rig, so I thought I'd stop them by coating a section of the cord with Vaseline.

This worked for a while, then the next day I discovered the ants had built a road through the sticky mess by walking over their stuck brethren and using some twigs and dirt to widen the pathway.

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..........and who said that humans are the smartest species. 

srs713 said:

Some of the best ideas I know for killing ants and other insects, I found on a PETA website. They were discussing what NOT to use because it would be inhumane to the insects.

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THIS IS MY NOMINEE FOR THE QUOTE OF THE MONTH !!!

I've killed ants on boats, RV's, in houses and all over the Caribbean where they are prevalent with only one product that seriously works:

Terro Liquid Ant Killer

You put it out  in various places and for 24 hours you see a zillion ants and then they just vanish and you won't see them again for at least a year. You can buy ready loaded trays or a small bottle that comes with tiny bits of cardboard. You put a dime size liquid on the bits of cardboard and spread them around where ever you saw the ants.

Apparently the ants eat the stuff then carry back to the nest or trail and it kills the rest.  Poof! Bye bye ants.

I've got some on board my RV now, about 3/4's bottle. Last time I killed them it was maddening as I had company. At first it's embarrassing cause word gets out and all the ants show up for the buffet. Then they vanish. FOR GOOD. I had leftover liquid as most never demolished the entire dime sized poison.

DearMissMermaid said:

I've killed ants on boats, RV's, in houses and all over the Caribbean where they are prevalent with only one product that seriously works:

Terro Liquid Ant Killer

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The active ingredient in Terro Ant Killer is  >>>> drum roll  >>>>> BORAX!!

It is just food and Borax pre-mixed and packaged in a pretty container.

One thing I often do when I am hooking up or parking is to look on the ground for ant hills.  If I find one of the very active ones very close to my RV, I will just sprinkle a little plain borax on the ground next to my hoses or cords.  The ants will not cross the area where the borax is to climb up your plug or hoses. 

Plain borax is a little hard to find sometimes, and the box it comes in can get wet or absorb moisture and make a mess, so I transferred my supply to plastic milk bottles.  You use so little of it, I figure I have about a three-year supply. 

One other tip: I carry several products for insects and critters like mice, just in case.  Almost always, when you find these tiny hitchhiker wannabes, you are in the middle of nowhere, so it helps to plan and keep a few things like ant traps on hand.

You must turn off you air and/or heat and your piolet light before using them, but the "flea bombs" work great for killing ants. The pyrethrum flea bombs are very safe for humans, dogs and cats. Remove people and all pet from the building (MH) (Must remove birds and cover fish tanks). Turn off air conditioners and/or heat and vents to outside. Open up all cabinets. Set off bombs and then leave MH for at least two hours. On returning vent MH for 30 minutes before reentering. I will usually set the bombs off when I am going to be away for a day. I usually place a small bomb in the MH and a small bomb in the basement.  Pyrethrums are made from a plant extract, their effects last for only 24 hours and it is only toxic to insects. Borax is good but may take 2-3 days to kill the ants. Pyrethrums kill within a few minutes.

Frank

srs713 said:

The active ingredient in Terro Ant Killer is  >>>> drum roll  >>>>> BORAX!!

It is just food and Borax pre-mixed and packaged in a pretty container.

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Well *drum roll* it WORKS. Nothing pretty about Terro squirted on a piece of cardboard. LOL! While I prefer to live on an efficient budget, I like the tiny Terro Bottle and cardboard method just fine, they've already assembled the ingredients and pre-mixed the mess up for me.  ;D

DearMissMermaid said:

Well *drum roll* it WORKS. Nothing pretty about Terro squirted on a piece of cardboard. LOL! While I prefer to live on an efficient budget, I like the tiny Terro Bottle and cardboard method just fine, they've already assembled the ingredients and pre-mixed the mess up for me.  ;D

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Yeah, having the product name on the bottle helps when you are reaching into the cupboard for something. Not fun dealing with two or three dollar store squirt bottles with the magic marker faded off.

One reason I mix my own is because I also use the Borax with Dawn in the holding tanks. (G.E.O. method)

Ultimately found out how the little b*s were getting in. Running up one of the jacks. Some strong ant spray outside and a little Orange Gard inside seems to have left me ant free. Thanks for all the remedies. Need to find some Borax

Bill and Debbie said:

Ultimately found out how the little b*s were getting in. Running up one of the jacks. Some strong ant spray outside and a little Orange Gard insides seems to have left me ant free. Thanks for all the remedies. Need to find some Borax

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We often use borax in our pool at home.  We find it near the laundry detergent in many stores. 
Now we need it for ants in the TT.