Invasion of the Carpenter Ants

[walk_the_walk]

Perhaps it was too good to be true... Having a nearly-new 2005 Wildwood travel trailer and parking it under the Live Oak trees on our own piece of paradise in Florida...

And for a few weeks during what constitutes winter in the Deep South, all was bliss, as we starting using our new trailer every weekend and enjoying the RV lifestyle...

But, all of this came to a screeching halt late this Saturday night, when my wife pulled open a cabinet drawer next to the power inverter, and we discovered THE INVASION OF THE CARPENTER ANTS.

Ants starting dropping out onto our floor and running everywhere. Everyone was scrambling to squish them any way we could; we were spraying them with All Purpose Cleaner to slow them down; picking them up with paper towels, smashing them with our thumbs while trying to avoid their lethal bites, and trying to corral each and every one, any way we could muster.

Now, for those of you who know, Carpenter Ants are the meanest, toughest, hardest-to-kill, most rough-and-tumble ant on the hill. So, you can understand our HORROR when we looked inside the opening where the drawer slide was, and saw a terrifying sight, as frightening as when Sigorney Weaver and the crew from the spaceship Nostromo discovers the mother-lode of alien eggs about to hatch.... a carpenter ant nest, complete with hundreds of workers and hundreds of eggs, built right on top of the drawer slide, nestled in amongst all of the wires that distribute the power to everything in our trailer home!!

We knew instinctively not to spray anything wet into this electrical compartment, due to all the electrical connections and breakers, which immediately ruled out using any kind of pesticide to rid us of this horror. With no easy solution to rid ourselves of this alien invasion, things looked pretty bleak.

But, rather than run screaming into the night, dialing up the Terminix after-hours number, we quickly came up with a PLAN B to destroy the INVADERS. Whipping out our new bagless Cyclone Vac, we started SUCKING UP those little red and black devils into a literal cyclone of hell. Every little evil worker ant and every little evil ant egg was sucked up into our machine to be rotated in a swirling centrifuge of death.

Next, came PLAN C - block their escape. Many of the ants had grabbed an egg and left, fleeing to fight another day, escaping out of the trailer on the bug superhighway - the main power cable. The vast majority were now running around on the outside of the trailer, looking for a new route back IN to the trailer. This is when I got out the big guns - SPECTRACIDE TERMITE FOAM in the convenient green spray can. (Has anyone ever thought about how odd it is that pesticides come in a green can?)

Fortunately, this product is adept at killing carpenter ants, with unparalled ferocity. And, best of all, it is almost completely odorless. So I filled the power cable hole with foam and coated the outside of the cable where it descends by the tire well, then started putting foam around the outer window frames to ensure that the ants did not find a new way back INTO our trailer.

The war raged on for about two hours, as we hunted down each and every soldier - capturing or killed them one-by-one. Soon, there was a cease fire, and we removed the vacuum to the outside, taking it far, far away, to empty its coffers of the dead, the now-silent victims of the Ant War.

At dawn the next day, we began the process of cleaning up after the battle - ant traps were laid, expanding foam used to close up the power cable hole on the inside and on the outside, insecticide granules and borax laced the surrounding countryside to ensure that no bug, no matter how benign, might ever dare to cross over our toxic line of demarcation.

Borax and a new mint oil all-natural pesticide were used in every cabinet, nook and granny inside the trailer, while we cleared away every branch and twig within 10 feet of our Wildwood unit, leaving the enemy with no cover. We considered using Agent Orange, but decided against it, opting for Anthro, Terro, and 20 Mule Team Borax instead.

Now, it's just a matter of wait and see. Will the enemy return, or are we safe for the time being? Were there any survivors? Is there a secondary nest somewhere that we cannot see, but may come back to haunt us? When will they return again? Only time will tell.... We hope our C-rations hold out in the meantime.

Stay tuned...

********************

Do you have a bug or pest invasion story to tell? If so, please share your experience and any pest control tips here...

[Rockinwood]

Originally Posted by walk_the_walk

Perhaps it was too good to be true... Having a nearly-new 2005 Wildwood travel trailer and parking it under the Live Oak trees on our own piece of paradise in Florida...

And for a few weeks during what constitutes winter in the Deep South, all was bliss, as we starting using our new trailer every weekend and enjoying the RV lifestyle...

But, all of this came to a screeching halt late this Saturday night, when my wife pulled open a cabinet drawer next to the power inverter, and we discovered THE INVASION OF THE CARPENTER ANTS.

Ants starting dropping out onto our floor and running everywhere. Everyone was scrambling to squish them any way we could; we were spraying them with All Purpose Cleaner to slow them down; picking them up with paper towels, smashing them with our thumbs while trying to avoid their lethal bites, and trying to corral each and every one, any way we could muster.

Now, for those of you who know, Carpenter Ants are the meanest, toughest, hardest-to-kill, most rough-and-tumble ant on the hill. So, you can understand our HORROR when we looked inside the opening where the drawer slide was, and saw a terrifying sight, as frightening as when Sigorney Weaver and the crew from the spaceship Nostromo discovers the mother-lode of alien eggs about to hatch.... a carpenter ant nest, complete with hundreds of workers and hundreds of eggs, built right on top of the drawer slide, nestled in amongst all of the wires that distribute the power to everything in our trailer home!!

We knew instinctively not to spray anything wet into this electrical compartment, due to all the electrical connections and breakers, which immediately ruled out using any kind of pesticide to rid us of this horror. With no easy solution to rid ourselves of this alien invasion, things looked pretty bleak.

But, rather than run screaming into the night, dialing up the Terminix after-hours number, we quickly came up with a PLAN B to destroy the INVADERS. Whipping out our new bagless Cyclone Vac, we started SUCKING UP those little red and black devils into a literal cyclone of hell. Every little evil worker ant and every little evil ant egg was sucked up into our machine to be rotated in a swirling centrifuge of death.

Next, came PLAN C - block their escape. Many of the ants had grabbed an egg and left, fleeing to fight another day, escaping out of the trailer on the bug superhighway - the main power cable. The vast majority were now running around on the outside of the trailer, looking for a new route back IN to the trailer. This is when I got out the big guns - SPECTRACIDE TERMITE FOAM in the convenient green spray can. (Has anyone ever thought about how odd it is that pesticides come in a green can?)

Fortunately, this product is adept at killing carpenter ants, with unparalled ferocity. And, best of all, it is almost completely odorless. So I filled the power cable hole with foam and coated the outside of the cable where it descends by the tire well, then started putting foam around the outer window frames to ensure that the ants did not find a new way back INTO our trailer.

The war raged on for about two hours, as we hunted down each and every soldier - capturing or killed them one-by-one. Soon, there was a cease fire, and we removed the vacuum to the outside, taking it far, far away, to empty its coffers of the dead, the now-silent victims of the Ant War.

At dawn the next day, we began the process of cleaning up after the battle - ant traps were laid, expanding foam used to close up the power cable hole on the inside and on the outside, insecticide granules and borax laced the surrounding countryside to ensure that no bug, no matter how benign, might ever dare to cross over our toxic line of demarcation.

Borax and a new mint oil all-natural pesticide were used in every cabinet, nook and granny inside the trailer, while we cleared away every branch and twig within 10 feet of our Wildwood unit, leaving the enemy with no cover. We considered using Agent Orange, but decided against it, opting for Anthro, Terro, and 20 Mule Team Borax instead.

Now, it's just a matter of wait and see. Will the enemy return, or are we safe for the time being? Were there any survivors? Is there a secondary nest somewhere that we cannot see, but may come back to haunt us? When will they return again? Only time will tell.... We hope our C-rations hold out in the meantime.

Stay tuned...

********************

Do you have a bug or pest invasion story to tell? If so, please share your experience and any pest control tips here...

Ok I LMAO,

you need to write a book!!!



The only Horror story was a very smart rat, we set up glue traps and put dog food in the middle, (this was in the Garage not trailer) any who, the rat found a rag and put over the glue trap and happily ate to his content..

After many a night stalking this varmit, he finally recived the claw, yes the claw that removes weeds!!!

We now have the feline cats and not more rats, and that is that!!!

[cmprguy]

You must be a riot around the campfire!!!!!!!!!!!

[powerboatr]

WOW invasion of the mean critters

they like WET wood
do you by chance have a roof leak?
if its dry inside they will not stay.
i would check your roof real good



i hate them little buggers

good on you for getting some revenge

[granite]

What a great sense of humor you have, and tenacity. Heaven help any Taliban bugs that may be lurking to return to your door!

[08flagvlite]

I wish there was a way to fight off those pesky no-see-ums! Here in Fla, they come out in the early evening, around 7 to about 9pm, and I think they LIKE the bug spray! Our son plays baseball, with a team appropriately named the SAND GNATS! Ironically, the Jacksonville city owned mosquito control, armed with not one, but 2 aerial assault helicopters, and several sprayer trucks, are located right around the corner from the ball park- basically within shouting distance from it! You would think.......

[wnytaxman]

Well here in WNY we have the wonder of the black fly. They are around until the first of June and then they disappear. Until then they bite and cause all manner of grief and pain. Nasty critters!

[08flagvlite]

wnytaxman, is that anything like a yellow fly? We get those, and they are very painful, as well!

[wnytaxman]

They could be related. Ours seem to live in the woods behind our house. Anywhere in the yard during the month of May can be brutal. We leave our Yellow Lad inside a lot in May because she gets bit up so badly that we end up having to shave her and put salve on her wounds. Not a pretty sight. I have an aversion to spraying the woods for the critters. I guess I'm afraid they'll mutate into some giant black fly that has a voice like Vincent Price! Hold it, did I just date myself?

[revrnd]

We've had to deal w/ carpenter ants up here in Ontario.