What really works to keep ants OUT of yer TT?

[Fred762]

WE are experienced "tenters" but new to TTs and already love our new Casita "Indy". We want to hear from 'old hands" who know how to keep ants from over running the trailer. We do NOT have any pets at the moment.

[David B.]

You can wipe down the electrical cord with ant killer while it is deployed, or you can switch out that style of cord to a marine shore power cord. This type of connection leaves no openings into the trailer, as it is all sealed.
Dave & Paula

[Borrego Dave]

Besides the power cord change that Dave offered, I've heard of some folks spreading a line of Comet or such around their tires/jacks as it's said ants wont cross the powder line, . Overhead bush/tree branches touching the TT can also be an entry trail. As experienced tenters you know the food storage routine. Maybe your new TT is just to sweet to keep the ants from checking it out .

[Tom 72]

I had good luck with one of these, but its poop was worse than the ants. Try ant baits that are greasy & sweet.

[Eddie B.]

Originally Posted by Fred762

WE are experienced "tenters" but new to TTs and already love our new Casita "Indy". We want to hear from 'old hands" who know how to keep ants from over running the trailer. We do NOT have any pets at the moment.

Borax 8 spoons
Sugar or honey 4 Spoons
Pour hot water over the mixture,stir well
We use dipped cotton balls,just drop them around,or camping just pour in several different close locations on a leaf etc.

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Fred762

WE are experienced "tenters" but new to TTs and already love our new Casita "Indy". We want to hear from 'old hands" who know how to keep ants from over running the trailer. We do NOT have any pets at the moment.

Just put a thin line of Borax containing 20 Mule Team Laundry Booster around the tires or the power cord. Easy to find it in the laundry aisle at the grocery stores. It kills the ants as they walk across it so there is no need to mix it with honey. Just put it where they walk. Handy product it also makes a useful cleaner. It kills mold spores, mildew, etc as well as ants.

I live in an area where there are a lot of carpenter ants. I learned to sprinkle a thin line of it the ground near the foundation every spring. When I was remodeling my house I put it inside the exterior walls on top of the sill plates. That solved my ant nest inside the walls issues. You can also put it on the area inside the cabinets where they are coming inside. It will also kill cockroaches

[Kenton]

Originally Posted by Eddie B.

Borax 8 spoons
Sugar or honey 4 Spoons
Pour hot water over the mixture,stir well
We use dipped cotton balls,just drop them around,or camping just pour in several different close locations on a leaf etc.

Be careful how you do this as borax will render the soil toxic. Vegetation will die and nothing will grow at that spot until the boron leaches out of the soil. Which generally takes several years if you live in an area that does not get heavy rainfall.

[stevebaz]

I spray my equipment and not the ground. If everyone sprayed the ground what a toxic mess you would leave. Another option, feed them away from your trailer so your not the lunch truck for them. When I had a motor home I had an ant invasion from the trees above as some branches were resting on top of the motor home. So now days with my trailer check and make sure nothing is touching the trailer to bridge them in. With the modern edible wiring in my truck I am more worried about rodents killing my truck than of ants.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by stevebaz

When I had a motor home I had an ant invasion from the trees above as some branches were resting on top of the motor home. So now days with my trailer check and make sure nothing is touching the trailer to bridge them in.

I've found ants climbing on my trailer one time. Couldn't figure out how they got there so I followed the trail to the roof, and yep, there was a tree limb touching the top.

[Fred762]

Originally Posted by stevebaz

I spray my equipment and not the ground. If everyone sprayed the ground what a toxic mess you would leave. Another option, feed them away from your trailer so your not the lunch truck for them. When I had a motor home I had an ant invasion from the trees above as some branches were resting on top of the motor home. So now days with my trailer check and make sure nothing is touching the trailer to bridge them in. With the modern edible wiring in my truck I am more worried about rodents killing my truck than of ants.

LOL we know all about that issue..3 yrs ago we had a Jeep Wrangler sit outside for a couple months..the d$%ned squirrels ate the gas line and part of the TANK off. Cost us the $500 deductible on ins..total cost of repair was over $950. I found out later that the gas line and some wiring insulation is now made w plastic that is PEANUT OIL BASED. What #$@@ed moron thought THAT wd be a good idea??????????????????????? We may try putting ant baits around the area and taking them with us when we leave..to the dumpster. I worry about others' pets.

[Glenn Baglo]

I believe it is soya, not peanut.

[Dave8850]

A flea collar made for a dog seems to work well. Cut a piece off and fasten it to the cord where it exits the camper. The collar kills fleas and keeps ants away.

[Fred762]

Originally Posted by Dave8850

A flea collar made for a dog seems to work well. Cut a piece off and fasten it to the cord where it exits the camper. The collar kills fleas and keeps ants away.

IF this is true, you just made my day.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Fred762

LOL we know all about that issue..3 yrs ago we had a Jeep Wrangler sit outside for a couple months..the d$%ned squirrels ate the gas line and part of the TANK off. Cost us the $500 deductible on ins..total cost of repair was over $950. I found out later that the gas line and some wiring insulation is now made w plastic that is PEANUT OIL BASED. What #$@@ed moron thought THAT wd be a good idea??????????????????????? We may try putting ant baits around the area and taking them with us when we leave..to the dumpster. I worry about others' pets.

As with many things there's a reason that wire insulation is made using soy instead of petroleum. It's actually nylon. Nylon 6 is made from soy and nylon 7 is made from petroleum. Nylon 6 has a much small bend radius without kinking. Most automobile wiring is teflon insulation. Teflon is a brand name so called "cross-link" for automotive. The advantage of cross-link is that it does NOT sustain fire and resists abrasion.
I believe most liquid tanks are made of polyurethane, which is petroleum based.
One of the things everybody should be aware of is that there's a reason for any and all items that may not be obvious to the casual observer.

getting off soap box now.

[Fred762]

Well sumthin ate the line and tank

[stevebaz]

Back in the early 2000's we were making fiberglass cabling for the telecommunications industry and entered into a study for rodent armor for long transition under ground fiber-optics cable.

We found out with great expense that rodents are tougher and smarter than engineers, even do-gooder environmental engineers. The lab that supplied the gophers for testing made allot of money. The gophers chewed up allot of cabling.

Gophers 1
Engineers 0

[Defenestrator]

If you want something a bit less DIY and more contained than the borax+honey solution, you can try the "Terro" brand ant bait that's basically the same thing.

Diomataceous Earth is pretty effective and harmless to non-bugs, but might be hard to keep in place.

Permethrin's very effective at getting rid of bugs and keeping them out, but is NOT OK to use if you have cats - it's highly toxic to them.

[Casita Greg]

On another slant to keeping critters out, aside from all the above mentioned "home remedies" and chemistry set concoctions of various harmful chemicals and their dubious efficacy, you can just do away with the permanently installed shore power cord and go with a Marine style twist lock plug in. They've been using these on boats for over fifty years. I don't know why the RV industry hasn't gotten on-board with these as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Marinco-30ARV...70_&dpSrc=srch

And this hatch (below) is the same width as the OE shore power hatch with the little sliding cover for the shore power cord, but just taller. In addition to the fact that there is no "pet door" built into it, it has a key lock and allows access to an otherwise useless storage area that you can't get to with the little hatch.
JR Products ZE102-A Polar White Access Hatch Keylock Large RV Parts

I no longer having to wrestle with getting the shore power cord in and out of that crappy little hatch, (which always kind of reminded me of the old gag gift of the spring snake in a can.) Now I just unplug it, coil it up, and stow it wherever I wish to. And, guess what? No chance of critters crawling up the cord to get in.