ants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RSgerry]

the little bastards have declared war on me for some reason. they are in my patio, but worst of all, they have set up home in the Falcon somewhere. it is painful only being able to spray a couple at a time and then having to wash the spray off the paint. especially as they like to come out at night when washing a car is not really practical. can anyone give me some advice? i dont want to strip the car down if i can avoid it. boiling water works a treat on the ones in the patio, but if i pour boiling water on the car, what damage am i likey to do? will panels warp, what about plastic bumpers and paintwork?

any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[JADED6]

Best thing you can do is move what has attracted them there in the first place, only problem you'll have is if said attraction is seen as a house by the ants.
If they are there to live, move house.
Don't park the car on dirt/grass or near trees.
They may go away if you get down & ask them nicely. If they refuse, ask to speak to the ant in charge.

[Captain Stubing]

don't park your car with the nose AGAINST greenery. If you've got them in your car already, it might be a hard job to find where they're nesting.

If you are reasonably sure that the ants have setup "house" in your car they can be difficult to find and eradicate, here are some suggestions.

First indentify the ant in question, take a couple in a zippy bag to a zoo, museum or your local pest exterminator (an entamologist is best) some ants forage at night, some during the day, they also have preferences in food sources.

Next on a small lid mix about 1/2 a teaspoon of their favourite diet, place this where you see them the most, check every hour, (at night with a torch in necessary) you should find a steady stream of ants comming and going then dissapearing into the bodywork somewhere, this is the point you need to attack.

Then it's off to the local car wash, (the DIY with the high pressure wand type) and attack the area in and around where the nest is located with the wash system set to "hot suds with pressure" the detergent is alkaline and ants are acidic but you need to flush out what ever nest has been built and if possible kill the queen.

If all this is too difficult you can go to your local garden center and get some ant powder that contains 30g/kg Chlorpyrifos spread this lightly wherever you see the ants (including your patio) read the safety directions.

Regards Prof. Rabbit

Originally Posted by RSgerry

the little bastards have declared war on me for some reason. they are in my patio, but worst of all, they have set up home in the Falcon somewhere. it is painful only being able to spray a couple at a time and then having to wash the spray off the paint. especially as they like to come out at night when washing a car is not really practical. can anyone give me some advice? i dont want to strip the car down if i can avoid it. boiling water works a treat on the ones in the patio, but if i pour boiling water on the car, what damage am i likey to do? will panels warp, what about plastic bumpers and paintwork?

any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[RSgerry]

Originally Posted by JADED6

Best thing you can do is move what has attracted them there in the first place, only problem you'll have is if said attraction is seen as a house by the ants.
If they are there to live, move house.
Don't park the car on dirt/grass or near trees.
They may go away if you get down & ask them nicely. If they refuse, ask to speak to the ant in charge.

LOL...thats been my problem. i have been abusive and called them names.

[smciner1]

/me awaits BlueAU to reply............................

You could try 'ant baits'. Mortein have a good one out. It is like a roach bait but smaller, in packs of four. They are about $3/4? Just put them in the car in a safe spot where it won't be disturbed and the little blighters walk into it then they get covered in the poison and take it back to the ant nest and nicely share it with all their little friends, till they all drop dead! :hihi:

Ant sand also works well but is a bit messier to use and not really safe to have around if there are kids about...

Both of these items can be bought from Coles, Woolworths, K Mart etc.

Hope this helps and good luck!

[donno]

Just cover their trails with talcum powder. Gets in their feelers and they go practically blind.

[rag top]

Give the car to a detailer for the works, and if the ants remain, take it back until the detalier has cleaned the problem away!

[Sundeep]

Freakin ants.

My EA had them when I got it off my Mum, nothing major just the occasional "hello" here and there lol. Pulled the ECU out for some reason one day and bingo, nesting under there. Bit of Mortein and a vacuum cleaner ended that saga happily

Sundeep

[InitialD]

Yes I too had them in my EA when i got it, as it had been sitting outside in a front yard for 3mths.

there were LOTS of them, under EVERYTHING. When we removed the old interior it was like something from a horror movie.

They had nested in 4 areas and I ended up removing them via Hi Pressure Hose action and some ANT RID

[Jaeger]

I had ants set up under my battery, in the battery cover thingy.
These were singapore ants and they are nasty buggers.

I don't if it was just these ants but they seemed attracted to copper and the electrical stuff.

[FRDGAL]

Originally Posted by smciner1

/me awaits BlueAU to reply............................

Lol me too

Ants like him

[Twisted]

Originally Posted by Fairmont_Krissy

Lol me too

Ants like him

Both of ya's shuddup! Stupid damn ants! Havent had a recurrance(sp?) yet but hopefully they have packed up shop and taken off!

[AU1XLS]

Dont worry about this post

[Kryton]

park it where you usually do at night and pour a bottle of antrid on the ground beside the car. they will flock to it and take it back to their nest. they will all die. then its vacuum cleaner time.