Spiders! What about Ants?

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rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,948
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Well I've read two threads now about spiders. Seems like a big problem for a lot of folks.
I guess I've been lucky. Spiders have never been a big deal on any of the boats I've owned. But I always get ants in my boat. I guess it is because I park my boat under an oak tree. I've learned that wood ants are lazy and instead of climbing down the tree they free fall..... onto my boat. Then they get lost trying to find the ground and there are always a bunch of ants crawling about. They don't bite so it is not a big deal but I don't like them in my boat anyway.

I use moth balls to drive them out and it seems to work well enough. So I'm wondering if that is why I have no spiders in my boat. Anyone else use mothballs? :confused: And if so do you have spider issues?

r
 
M

mjfin

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Sep 13, 2010
7
Transit Marine 26 Anacortes
Ranger: Don't use mothballs. There is one cure for ants. I fought them for weeks at my house, which seemed to be built on an ant hill. Front porch. Back porch. Kitchen cupboards. Walls in utility room (literally) blackened with crawling ants. Finally invaded my bathroom. My home office. My girlfriend was in tears.
The cure: I bought a bottle of a product called TERRO (about $4). Basically Borax in a sugar syrup. You can probably drink it. Day 1: I used about two tablespoons ONLY in my bathroom. The ants lined up like little pigs at a trough, slurped it up and went home. Day 2: Did not add any more syrup. Fewer ants. Day 3: No ants. Anywhere.
In two months since I have not seen a single ant, anywhere.
This stuff works. Also kills roaches.
 
RECESS

RECESS

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Dec 20, 2003
1,509
Catalina 27 . St. Mary's Georgia
I spray my dock lines about every two weeks, ants never make it to the boat.
 
rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,948
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Thanks Recess. That makes sense but for me the ants are carpenter ants and they are coming from the tree I park my boat under when it is on the trailer.
 
G

Gail R

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Apr 22, 2009
261
Pearson 34 Freeport, ME
Ditto the Terro

mjfin said:
Ranger: Don't use mothballs. There is one cure for ants. I fought them for weeks at my house, which seemed to be built on an ant hill. Front porch. Back porch. Kitchen cupboards. Walls in utility room (literally) blackened with crawling ants. Finally invaded my bathroom. My home office. My girlfriend was in tears.
The cure: I bought a bottle of a product called TERRO (about $4). Basically Borax in a sugar syrup. You can probably drink it. Day 1: I used about two tablespoons ONLY in my bathroom. The ants lined up like little pigs at a trough, slurped it up and went home. Day 2: Did not add any more syrup. Fewer ants. Day 3: No ants. Anywhere.
In two months since I have not seen a single ant, anywhere.
This stuff works. Also kills roaches.
Click to expand
I just discovered Terro this summer. Had ants getting into my cat's food and onto my kitchen counters, despite my best efforts to keep them clean. I think I probably used a couple teaspoons of the stuff total, a drop here, a drop there, strategically placed in areas where I'd seen the little bastards.

The feeding frenzy was a little creepy; I had hundreds of the little bastards sucking the stuff up. In hindsight, I would have put it out right before I went to bed and let the frenzy happen overnight.

Next morning, no ants. Over the next couple days, I'd see one or two stragglers, but they seemed disoriented and confused. There were a few bodies here and there as well. After another day or two, no ants anywhere.

It was kind of hard for me to find Terro -- neither the Hannaford or Shaw's supermarkets had it, but Home Depot did. They also make liquid traps for both indoors and outdoors; I think I'm going to try some outdoor traps next spring as I have huge colonies around our walkway and I'd like to see them gone.
 
rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,948
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Thanks everyone.

There is a home depot near here and I'll swing by tonight. Dose up the tree and my boat.
 
tami

tami

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Sep 14, 2010
6
Farrier/corsair F-27GS Gulf Coast US
Terro, terro, terro (I'm too late, but i'm new to the forum). The traps are good to set on the boat and the grains around the wheels and anything else on the trailer which contacts the ground. Also if you park near bushes or plants which contact the boat, ants will use that as a bridge.

I feel your pain, but Terro does work,
tami
 
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