Hi,
We love your website and helpful article about ants. Very well done!! Our question is, we are using the gel and the bait traps that we actually purchased from a professional exterminator in our travels. We are moving almost daily and after about 1 week, we still are seeing ants. How long can we expect the traps and gel to take to kill all of these ants? Luckily our trip is short, but it is so frustrating that we have ants on board and it is making our trip so unpleasant. Again, thanks for your great website. RV Geek Travelers!!
Crazy ants are tough to control with bait. The indigenous species are easy to handle when they invade the home. Liquid treatments with CYPERMETHRIN and applying some LAWN GRANULES to your grass and mulch will usually handle them – even when you’re seeing them inside. And though our ANT CONTROL ARTICLE includes using a bait inside, the bait part of the “three level approach” is the most insignificant way to treat for this particular species of ant. In fact it’s really the outside treatments that will do them in. But if you get a problem with these ants inside an RV, these two type of treatments aren’t viable and as you’re already finding out, the baits don’t seem to work either.
And are you even sure they’re just crazy ants or is it possible they’re something worse? RASBERRY CRAZY ANTS are a new species here in the United States that’s become a major problem throughout the southwest. First identified back in 2002, these guys are even tougher to control compared to our native crazy ants. As our article on Rasberry Ants explains, baits don’t seem to work on them at all so again, your current implementation of ANT GEL and ANT BAIT STATIONS won’t help. So what you can you do that will work in an RV?
The only control option we’ve found that works for any kind of mobile vehicle is a good crack and crevice application with PHANTOM AEROSOL. This product is odorless and goes on dry so it’s ideal for use in living areas where spraying a liquid is near to impossible. In fact I use Phantom in my home all the time because I have hardwood floors and this is the only material I’ve used which goes on dry and doesn’t leave a mess.
Phantom is very different from any other spray in that it’s slow to act. So slow it will take several days to affect anything that comes in contact with it. Furthermore Phantom is undetectable by insects so they don’t even know it’s there. Ants will walk over treated surfaces and as they do so they’ll be picking up a lethal dose of product that they’ll unknowingly share with other members of their colony. When the Phantom eventually kicks in (about 3-6 days following the initial treatment), all the ants that come in contact with just one ant that walked over a treated surface will start to die. So if you treat thoroughly enough, most any ant problem will be gone inside of a week.
In summary I suggest you change strategies here and go to the Phantom. A thorough application done while you’re on the move or when you get back home is the only sure way we know to control crazy ants and rasberry crazy ants. Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
Lawn Granules: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/granule/complete-insect-killer-granules
Ant Control: http://www.bugspray.com/article/ants.html
Rasberry Crazy Ants: https://www.bugspray.net/rasberry-crazy-ants
Ant Gel: http://www.bugspraycart.com/bait/gel/maxforce-ant-gel-1-oz
Ant Bait Stations: http://www.bugspraycart.com/bait/stations/advance-dual-choice-12-pk
Phantom: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/pt-phantom-17-5oz
Leave a Reply