Ants in my new (preowned) RV

[Dontpedalit]

I had a cty water inlet problem my first weekend in my RV. I picked it up from the dealer Thursday night b4 Memorial day weekend and drove it straight to a State Park. I hadn't even leveled it and decided I needed to eat first. I sat down to eat real quick and noticed 2-3 carpenter ants on the dinette cushion. Then that night found one crawling on me in the bed. Over the weekend when the kids were with me, we saw one here and there. This past weekend I had it in another campground, same thing. They have to be living somewhere in the RV. I made an appt with the dealershio for them to receive the RV last night (Monday). When i mentioned to them i had this problem they just looked at me funny. No one offered a plan to resolve it. When i asked bluntly they said they've never heard of the isdue before. I'm not sure what to do.

 

[NY_Dutch]

Placing ant bait traps in the areas you've spotted them would be a good start.

https://www.walmart.com/c/kp/ant-traps

 

[Roy M]

Try a boric acid based bait such as Gourmet. It is slow acting, takes about 30 days to start working but seems to be very effective. I have walnuts scattered around the house, plenty of black ants outside but very few inside so maybe there is something to it.

 

[Rene T]

Go to Home Depot and pick up a defogger for pests.  Set off 2 of them inside your RV. Open all the cabinet doors.

Something like this or similar.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hot-Shot-Fogger-2-oz-Aerosol-with-Odor-Neutralizer-3-Pack-HG-96180-1/204685948?cm_mmc=Shopping%7CG%7CBase%7CAll-Products%7CAll%7CAll%7CPLA%7c71700000014585962%7c58700001236285396%7c92700010802552517&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIx8iulJzR4gIVzIKzCh0z7wVhEAQYAyABEgLAivD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Collene Calderson]

I am against the use of chemical ant-traps. That's why it is good to use ultrasonic pest repellents or organic pest control sprays. It is also good to spray the mixture of borax soap and sugar water around your RV. Also, keep ypur water tank and pipes clean. You can also spray vinegar and lemon spray because ants hate the smell of both of them.

 

[Jkoht]

If you have carpenter ants you may be in for a whole world of hurt. They aren't like regular ants, they feed on wood and destroy it by burrowing into it. You may have to talk to a qualified exterminator to find where they're located and actually inject a poison into their holes. We've had carpenter ants on and off over the years in my family cabin and we've tried every poison and spray available. There's one called Seven that comes as a liquid or powder. The liquid works well for spraying them and hitting what holes we can see on the log beams, but in a camper might be another story entirely.

 

[Utclmjmpr]

What would you do if in your home.??? Why is the RV any different.???>>>Dan

 

[old_toys]

ants don't like used coffee grounds either, can't get any more organic than that.

 

[cic317]

Carpenter ants will only stay around if there is moisture present, They only burrow to make nests not to eat, They bring food into nest from outside. You must have a leak somewhere, start checking around windows & hatches, then move up to roof.

 

[viceprice]

I recommend you search/read articles from university cooperative extension services such as this:https://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/carpenter-ants
I have elimated a nest in our home (decaying floor under the toilet due to the moisture from years of a sweating tank in the summer) doing this:

Place small amounts of regular jam/jelly on index cards and place these in areas where you are seeing the ants yet out of the way of pets, children etc. Let the worker ants  find these and feed on them for a couple if weeks. The worker ants will taken this food back to the nest.  Replace the jam/jelly as needed. This is a good time to watch the activity to help determine where the nest is (and your moisture damaged wood/structure). After a couple of weeks, mix boric acid powder in with the jam/jelly. I do not have a concentration recipe. It does not take much. Keep this going until you do not see any more ants. Be patient. It takes time but it will work. It is also inexpensive. You can not eliminate them until you kill the fertile queen who stays in the nest. I am not a fan of the ant traps or the kill on contact insecticides for a lot of reasons. You need the worker ants to show you the nest and carry the poison (in this case boric acid) back to the nest.

The carpenter ants are strong evidence of water damage in the RV. I recommend having a follow up conversation with the dealer...what's the history on this unit...? Maybe the "look" they gave is due to the fact they have never heard of this before...or they know what it means. Have they repaired this unit previously?  Maybe they can get more history on the unit from the previous owner if pressed to help tell you determine where possible moisture has entered from a location that has been previously repaired.