Infestation

[DC698]

Hi all, Wondered if anyone had any solutions to a problem I'm having with ants in my boat! They were around last year and I put some ant bait in the boat and it "seemed" to get rid of them for the season. But just now, I was out vacuuming the boat out, and when I lifted the bimini top storage compartment there must have been about 3000 ants with eggs. Sounds real gross I know, and it was! I sucked all them up but now I need to know how to keep them off the boat for good! Any ideas? I dont need them eating all the wood in my hull! ('91 Sunbird) I just sprayed under the seats and around engine compartment etc etc with some all purpose pest spray. After that, I saw some ants running out of the boat. What else can I do??? I dont need these stowaways on the boat!

 

[JamesCoste]

Re: Infestation

I, too, am interested in the answer to this. I've got a few very small ants as well in various parts of the boat.

 

[Bart Sr.]

Re: Infestation

Maybe you should try TERRO.When you are going to be parked for a couple of days set the TERRO out as per instructions and let it work.You will probably see more ants at first but they will soon be gone.The TERRO is a slow poison that is taken back to the nest where the entire population consumes it and dies.GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!<br /><br />EDIT:I use this inside the house and in the yard with great success!!!!!!!!

 

[DC698]

Re: Infestation

Thanks Bart, I will look for the product and give it a shot. Havent seen any around the past few hours after I sprayed with the pest spray, and hopefully wont see any tomorrow out on the water. My wife would probably jump in and swim to shore if she saw that many ants in the boat!

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: Infestation

Plain old Raid kills them all and keeps them from coming back. It's nasty stuff that works!

 

[Bart Sr.]

Re: Infestation

I,personally,would not keep spraying in the boat.The residual poisons and chemicals would be attached to the sprayed area and whatever contacts it.The TERRO is consumed and/or carried to the nest.After you see no more ants the little piece of cardboard with remaining TERRO can be tossed in the garbage or set out next to an anthill or nest.<br /><br />>>>>>>>HAPPY BOATING<<<<<<<

 

[DC698]

Re: Infestation

Good point about the spray. I did put down the ant bait traps that are in the little metal canisters last year and that seemed to work for the year. I will try the Terro this year. Thanks again!

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Infestation

If they are the large, black ants, they may be carpenter ants. These ants are attracted to damp wood. If they're carpenter ants, I would inspect any interior wood structures or support for damage, as these little guys love to burrow in damp wood to make their home. They don't actually eat wood like termites, but they can destroy it by burrowing in it.

 

[DC698]

Re: Infestation

Yea, Unfortunately they are carpenter ants. I am hopeing I got them all when I vacuumed them up and then sprayed all around under the seats in the bow storage area etc etc. I did find that on one side of the bow back rest support cushion it was loose. And when I inspected it, I was able to almost tear it off the side of the bow. When I looked down inside I could see some of the wood was damp and very deteriorated. I sprayed some pesticide down there also. Once they are gone, then I have to figure out how to fix that..Might be able to get away with just putting some liquid nails behind it and getting it to adhere to the fiberglass. Damn ants!! I think I have to find a better spot to park the boat.. its under some pine trees.. but I have a King Canopy over it AND my mooring cover over it.

 

[KRS]

Re: Infestation

Sounds like the covers (two?) are holding in moisture, remember it needs to breathe. Don't forget to spray the tire and ground around the tire and tongue jack, this is where the ants are coming from, unless branches are touching the boat. Good luck.

 

[DC698]

Re: Infestation

Just got the sharkskin cover last year before winter, and put in two 3" airvents to help keep air running through it..dont know if they are actually working, but when I did uncover it this year, it had very minimal mildew on the seats and vinyl. The other cover is one of those King canopy covers that sits about 10ft over the boat (10 x 20ft), mainly for sun protection to keep the boat from oxidizing anymore and helps keep the snow off the mooring cover in winter. I did spray around the tounge of the trailer, and because there are some pine tree limbs hanging over the king canopy, I sprayed all along the top and sides of the canopy to try and keep the little buggers from marching down onto the boat. I didnt do the tires because I ran out of spray! I think I need to do some tree limb trimming real soon.

 

[beezee28]

Re: Infestation

I tried AMBROS antkiller and that seems to work. Don't know if the ants will come back next season. I looked for the most likely spot where there are ants coming out of the wood-work and drops about 2 tablespoon of AMBROS in the general area. Came back the next day and most of the ant killer is gone and did not see any more ants 3 or 4 days later. Hope this help.

 

[Mike Langianese]

Re: Infestation

Try this to bait the ants from a local Extension Agent. My understanding is that you want to use just enough boric acid to kill the ants but after they feed the entire colony. Good luck<br /><br />Now how do you get rid of spiders? <br /> <br />How to Make Boric Acid Ant Bait<br /><br />Make your own ant bait by mixing 4 tablespoons of peanut butter, 6 tablespoons honey and three-fourths teaspoon boric acid. Place small amounts in areas visited by ants but not readily accessible to children. You can make a small feeding station by putting bait in a plastic 35 mm. film canister with a small hole bored into its lid. If successful, the bait kills the ants in 10 days to two weeks.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Infestation

Just remember, Carpenter ants are extremely finicky when it comes to baits. You can have one colony that will take a bait, and another colony that will walk by. Also, the foods that are desirable change through the year. In the spring they search out high energy foods like honey, hummingbird feeders, orange peels, etc. As you get into summer they switch to eating other insects, meats, and the sweets are no longer desirable. Terro usually does not work on Carpenter Ants, nor does any other store bought bait. Boric acid baits can work, but the percentage of chemical must be very small or the ants die before getting the food to the colony.<br /><br />Ants cannot eat what they find, it must all be brought to the larvae in the colony. the larvae is the only stage of ant development that can eat any foraged food. This food is converted to a liquid that is digested by the rest of the colony. When an ant wants to feed, it palpates the larvae which then regurgitates the liquid to the ant. The process is called throsolaxis. All current carpenter ant treatment techniques take advantage of this by either using a low dosage residual chemical that is physically brought in and transfred through touch or through the feeding cycle. Another thing to remember about baits is that ants cache their food, and it can be weeks before they even get to the bait that has been cached. If the baited food goes bad by decaying, they will remove it from the nest without eating it. What I have done with boats that have Carpenter ants is to gas the colony site directly using a machine that uses pure pyrethriums (vs the .005 percent pyrethriums found in over the counter products). You can always fully enclose the boat with its cover, open all hatches, and set off some bombs. The chemical in the bombs shouls be enough, and it breaks down with no residual very quickly, so you don't have contamination in your boat. Good luck... <br /><br />As far as spiders go, I spray my boat in all hatches, under the gunnels, anywhere that is out of site or touch, and it works for the most part as they walk through it eventually. Of course, I do this for a living so my stuff is going to be a bit better than over the counter...

 

[DC698]

Re: Infestation

Thanks for all the great suggestions guys. I was hoping to hear from one of our pest experts on the board! (Thanks Jason!) I had the boat out all this past weekend, and never saw a single ant run around the boat. Could I have killed off the colony of them when I sucked up all the larvae I originally found and all the live ones? And then sprayed with the pesticide? I also used some of the off the shelf bait canisters. I'd hate to have to resort to a bomb..even though, as Jason mentioned, it will have little residue after, but with two little ones walking and crawling around and putting there fingers in their mouths all the time.. How safe are they?? Thanks again for the replies!

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Infestation

You probably did enough damage to the colony. If you had a large amount of ants with eggs and larvae, that was the colony site. Just monitor things and you will be alright....

 

[DC698]

Re: Infestation

Thanks Jason, I will be keeping an eye on the boat each day. Brought it home yesterday after the weekend and parked it under the King canopy but didnt put the full cover over it to allow any moisture to dry out completely. Checked on it today and looked under the bow seats, etc and didn't see any signs of ants. Hopefully they went to the nearby tree's instead! haha. Thanks again.

 

[Bass Runner]

Re: Infestation

In the area you park your boat just spread diazon granuals and walla no more ants, spiders this stuff is a death sentence for any kind of bugs, i use it on the whole yard gets rid of fleas and ticks too. you can get it at walmart or most feed stores. This stuff works i put it out in the spring and it works all year, where you park your boat you might put it down in the fall also to keep the critters from hibernating in there in the winter.