Thursday, February 13, 2014

Still Around

We are still here but have been doing very little. Norma is having trouble shaking her cold and is hooked on watching the Olympics. We are taping everything on the DVR overnight and then picking what to watch the next day. It is time consuming but the weather has not been great so we have not had the urge to go anywhere.

We are also fighting off an invasion of tiny black ants. I know there is no stopping them and that they will eventually take over the earth but we are just trying to keep them out of this motorhome for now. They can have it later but just for now, please let me make a sandwich without having to check under the cutting board!

There are two types of ants in here. The variety in the kitchen are very tiny - think smaller than a flake of pepper and extremely fast moving - while the ones in the bedroom are larger and slower. I think these are of the Argentine species. They do not go into each others territory but have no problem invading ours,

We are incorporating two weapons. Physical squashing and chemicals in the way of sprays and drops. Norma sprayed behind the slide the other night and that caused about a thousand of the little buggers to run panic stricken up the walls where it kept her busy frantically squashing them with both thumbs.

Paul gave us some gel which is supposedly delicious to ants and which the workers take chunks of back to the nest where it is supposed to wipe out the colony, including the Queen. There is not much evidence of it working all that well. The battle continues. I am considering napalm.


8 comments:

  1. I have read of people coating the RV tires with some chemical to prevent bugs from entering...

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    1. Comet cleaner or Borax around the tires and on cables and hoses is supposed to work for this but our main problem is overhanging trees. I am sure this is where 90% of them are coming from.

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  2. It's a losing battle , based upon my experiences in past Februaries in the Florida Panhandle. Good luck!

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  3. What you want for the ants is this stuff, it is miraculous: http://www.amazon.com/TERRO-PreFilled-Liquid-Killer-Baits/dp/B000HJBKMQ/

    But you have to let it work which means no killing the ants you see. You have to let them get the bait and take it back to the colony.

    When I was an apartment complex manager, I got a lesson in ant psychology from our pest control guy. He explained that ants send out scouting parties to look for food. If the scouting party doesn't come back (ie. you smooshed them), they will send another scouting party, ad nauseum. The only way to get rid of the problem is to destroy the nest. Terro bait is the most effective. I went from a major problem to no ants in less than 48 hours.

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  4. ewwwwww. sorry I have nothing more. hate ants.

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  5. Forgot to tell you, keep an eye on that rubber tree plant! :) Happy Valentine's Day Norma!

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  6. Those tiny ants are a nuisance. But at least they are not the brutal fire ants.

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  7. This is the first year ever in Mexico that we have not had ants!! We don't use chemicals, we use vaseline. We coat anything that comes into the RV with it and they can't get in.

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