Ant attack!

[LTLFTcomposite]

Last couple mornings I've come out to the garage and found a train of ants streaming across the Leaf. These are not fire ants, they are smaller like pharaoh ants. In the past I've seen ants getting into the pool timer, A/C condenser and other electrical devices but they've never been much of an issue. Of course none of those gadgets are $30-40k.

If you google ants and electrical equipment you get plenty of hits.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070523002354AA340iK" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2008/05/can_ants_eat_your_computer.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm worried they might be getting into sensitive components. Unlike a gas car is doesn't get hot under the hood to make it uncomfortable for them. Also we've had a run of cloudy/rainy days so no occasion to park the car in the sun and cook the little buggers out.

For now I've just sprayed a little Raid here and there to knock them down, which I'm sure is eco-unfriendly.

Has anyone else seen this?

 

[Nubo]

There are a number of "natural" remedies that might at least let you put a perimeter around the edge of the garage. A light dusting of chalk, or better yet, diatomaceous earth; they don't like to cross that and it also kills them. You can usually find it in squeeze bottles, sometimes mixed with organic pesticides like pyrethrum (from chrysanthemums). Dust along the baseboards; sweep it into cracks, etc...

Also, when our house was infested, orange-oil products worked well. Useful for knocking down a large area very quickly. It also makes a barrier and seems to help obliterate the scent trails so they don't return to the same spot. "Orange Guard" is one brand.

We had a major battle with insects when we first moved into our house. Our place smelled like oranges for the first couple of months.

 

[ksnogas2112]

My wife tried dusting the sliding door to patio with Cayenne pepper and also Cinnamon but the dog kept licking it up before we could really tell a difference.

 

[ebill3]

Baking soda.

 

[TRONZ]

Out city was pretty much built on top of an ant colony. They have come on and off in waves for the past 10 years and when they do show up, they will try to carry you off! It's been pretty quit for the past 2 years besides the "Great Front Door Battle of Sept". I typically use the Ant powder on our perimeter and then recon back to their source. If its a fully developed colony, I flood them out with the hose. They grab their eggs, run for high ground with the queen (easy to spot) and I then nuke them with more ant powder before they regroup. Plugging the colony holes with more powder seems to take care of those left behind.

 

[mirko]

Hello Everyone!

I purchased my 2012 LEAF on April, 22nd (Earth Day 2012). This past weekend I saw the same thing as LTLFTcomposite, a train of ants streaming across the LEAF. I believe that they have made my car a home for their colony. Interestingly enough, I also live in Boca Raton, FL and have a white LEAF.

@LTLFTcomposite, were you able to eradicate the ants on your car? What did yo have to do?

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Hello Everyone!

I purchased my 2012 LEAF on April, 22nd (Earth Day 2012). This past weekend I saw the same thing as LTLFTcomposite, a train of ants streaming across the LEAF. I believe that they have made my car a home for their colony. Interestingly enough, I also live in Boca Raton, FL and have a white LEAF.

@LTLFTcomposite, were you able to eradicate the ants on your car? What did yo have to do?

Greetings mirko, glad to hear there's a fellow Leafer here in Boca! The take rate certainly is a lot slower here than out in west coast places.

We hit up the garage with some bug spray and haven't seen too many lately. With all the rain we've been getting the bugs are quite active.

The second Saturday of each month there's a meeting at the Delray community center of the Gold Coast Electric Auto Association. Stop by and meet the group if you can... there's no membership or dues or anything, just come on out.

http://www.goldcoasteaa.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[mirko]

Bug spray it is then!

I saw posts about the Gold Coast Electric Auto Association meeting that was this past Saturday. I just wasn't able to make it. I'll try to come out next month.

thanx

 

[thankyouOB]

eco-unfirendly isnt the issue, it is putting poison in proximity to yourself and your loved ones.
allotta good suggestions to avoid that from posters, and my experience with them is that they work.

you can also use lures; i.e. sweet or a protein to send them elsewhere.

 

[dgpcolorado]

I have had good results with a boric acid solution, sold in a small dropper bottle under the brand name "Revenge". The ants in my area are attracted to it, carry it back to the nest, and it will eventually kill them. A drop of boric acid solution shouldn't be a problem with pets or children since it is much too little to be any hazard.

The downside is that it takes time—many days—to work, so there is no instant gratification as with using conventional insecticides. But once the ants find it, assuming the drops are renewed as they are eaten, the colony will be wiped out.

I enjoy the ant colonies in my forest but not the ones that get into the house. Those I selectively eliminate.

 

[Nekota]

I have had good results with a boric acid solution, sold in a small dropper bottle under the brand name "Revenge". The ants in my area are attracted to it, carry it back to the nest, and it will eventually kill them. A drop of boric acid solution shouldn't be a problem with pets or children since it is much too little to be any hazard.

The downside is that it takes time—many days—to work, so there is no instant gratification as with using conventional insecticides. But once the ants find it, assuming the drops are renewed as they are eaten, the colony will be wiped out.

I enjoy the ant colonies in my forest but not the ones that get into the house. Those I selectively eliminate.

+1 on boric acid.

I use a 4% boric acid by volume dissolved into water then add sugar for sweetloving ants. The fat loving ants are more difficult to borate. A mixture of 4% by volume of boric acid (it's a powder) in peanut butter and apple jelly (equal parts) is claimed to work well. The dispensing system for the peanut butter - jelly is a soda straw.

Finally the toxicity of boric acid is less than asprin so it's not so deadly.

I've also found a soapy water drench is very effective at killing an in-ground colony. When I finish hand washing the car, the soapy water can silence a colony.

 

[Jimmydreams]

I've seen people at campgrounds put a line of Comet cleaner around their RV to keep ant and creepy-crawlies out. They seem to swear by it.

 

[aleph5]

Since our LEAF has occupied the garage for the last year, my BMW now lives outside and in the last few months has also found home to ants. Fortunately they've not been noticed inside the car--just all over the outside, under the hood in and around the engine compartment, and seen running around the door frame area (sills, etc.) when doors are open. We took a short overnight trip and it did nothing to stem the population, so cooking the little devils did not fix our problem. They particularly like engine hoses, at least while the car is cool, so I'm a little worried for rubber, neoprene, etc.

I've put the little bait sticks (Amdro, etc.) under the hood while the car sits unused, but it's not helped. Hope to try some of the above remedies and have also started spraying with some lemongrass-based "natural" insecticide spray found at Lo Depot. Of course that makes me wonder if such insecticides are safe for automotive finishes.

 

[rumpole]

This previous spring, I had pharaoh ants clustered on the front cover of my wall mounted Aerovironment EVSE just above the Power Present light, on the Ze of Zero Emission. This is the model EVSE-RS. I thought it might be an electromagnetic effect, but after I swept them off, I discovered that that particular patch of real estate is slightly warm to the touch, so I concluded they were just clustering over a warm spot. I was surprised they found it in the first place. They must be sending scouts everywhere....... :shock:

 

[skippycoyote]

Since our LEAF has occupied the garage for the last year, my BMW now lives outside and in the last few months has also found home to ants. Fortunately they've not been noticed inside the car--just all over the outside, under the hood in and around the engine compartment, and seen running around the door frame area (sills, etc.) when doors are open. We took a short overnight trip and it did nothing to stem the population, so cooking the little devils did not fix our problem. They particularly like engine hoses, at least while the car is cool, so I'm a little worried for rubber, neoprene, etc.

I've put the little bait sticks (Amdro, etc.) under the hood while the car sits unused, but it's not helped. Hope to try some of the above remedies and have also started spraying with some lemongrass-based "natural" insecticide spray found at Lo Depot. Of course that makes me wonder if such insecticides are safe for automotive finishes.

Amdro works great for certain ants (carpenter ants, fire ants), but there are some ants that just won't take the bait. Have you tried mixing one part baking soda to one part sugar? We just started using this in our home for a sudden cockroach infestation, and it seems to be killing the ants, too.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Amdro works great for certain ants (carpenter ants, fire ants), but there are some ants that just won't take the bait. Have you tried mixing one part baking soda to one part sugar? We just started using this in our home for a sudden cockroach infestation, and it seems to be killing the ants, too.

+1 on Amdro for fire ants. My experience the baiting process is always hit and miss for other ants. Supposedly there some are attracted sweet, others to grease, but they never answer me when I ask them for their order I've had some luck with other baits, Terro, Ant-Kil, and Combat ant gel, but a lot of time the little buggers keep on truckin' right past the stuff.

A few ants running across the outside of the car doesn't worry me; I'm concerned they are going to gum up the works somehow. I've seen them make a real mess of pool timers, motors and A/C contactors.

 

[Caracalover]

A soap solution coats the exo-skeleton of insects, and suffocates them. They use this to kill Africanized bees for instance. I use dish soap and water - 50-50 or a little more water, depending on the situation. I agree that boric acid is a great way to eliminate a colony, if you don't have pets or kids that will get it on them. A line of boric acid around the garage perimeter will likely eliminate the problem.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

A line of boric acid around the garage perimeter will likely eliminate the problem.

On the floor in the garage or on the ground outside?

 

[LakeLeaf]

Baking soda.

gun powder and a match!

 

[Caracalover]

A line of boric acid around the garage perimeter will likely eliminate the problem.

On the floor in the garage or on the ground outside?

On the inside, and a line of soap diluted enough to not be sticky on the entryway. or if there is a crack that will hold the powder, fill it.