Find out how to stop ants from getting
into your caravan or motorhome plus tried and tested ways to get rid of them.
Get rid of ants in
your caravan / RV
Ant Prevention
Ants can be a huge
problem to the caravanner, and at times it seems like a
never ending battle to keep these pests at bay.
Some ideas fellow
caravanners have devised to manage this problem are:
When you are back home after your holiday and have
cleaned your van, put ant kill around the jockey
wheels and tyres. This helps prevent ants from
entering your van.
Talcum
powder. Lay it across their trail - or anywhere else for that matter.
Sprinkle it on any part of the van that touches the ground. This will
soon get rid of or deter them. Easy to clean up afterwards too.
Spray
UNDILUTED
Bio Magic around tyres and anything in contact with the ground.
Mix a
little honey and Borax on a small sheet of cardboard or similar and
place these around the problem areas (this one worked for us)
Crush
some cinnamon sticks & toss them in the cupboards and in all the dark
spots.
Use
outdoor surface spray on the jockey wheel, legs and axle of the caravan
when camped in an ant infested environment. This can be repeated every
3 months when the caravan is not in use.
Related
Articles:
Insects - Personal Protection What's "Bugging" You? Insect
protection - keeping midges (sandflies), mosquitoes and flies away.
Prior to storage or
when your RV is not in use for some time, remove all foodstuffs from
cupboards and/or pantry. There are various do it yourself spray
surfact packs available to spray inside the cupboards which will prevent
insect infestation against ants, cockroaches and spiders for up to 3
months.
When travelling, store your foodstuffs in lidded
containers, wipe up drink spills and keep floor and benches clean of
food spills. One owner experienced ants in an unopened box of scone mix
and it was likely they were attracted to the sweetner in the pre-mix
receipe.
Another
good point to remember is, never park your van where
tree branches or leaves (no matter how small) can brush
against the van itself. This provides an easy path
for ants to enter your van from above while you're
busy concentrating on their trail from the nest on the ground ie.
jockey wheels, stabilising legs, tyres etc.
Ant
Eradication
How do I get rid of ants in my caravan,
motorhome or RV?
Ant nests have sometimes been located in
air conditioners or wall cavities of RV’s after they
have not been in use for some time or have been in
storage.
Once ants are in your caravan, motorhome
or 5th wheeler it is possible there may be a
nest which will contain a queen ant.
Mortein have a product called ‘Mortein
Nest Kill Ant Baits’. The baits are placed where the
ant trail is located maybe near a window or small crack
in the wall. If you know where the nest is then closer
to the nest is best. The idea is the ants feed on the
bait and carry the bait back to the nest killing the
queen ant and the nest.
As the baits contain an attractant don’t
be surprised if there seems to be more ants around the
bait in the first couple of days of use.
Make sure you read the directions on the
container prior to using the baits. There are some
precautions you should take as you would with handling
any insecticide or pesticide.
