Ants

[Zwillingsmama]

I have a question, we are still in the market of buying a class B. Yesterday we looked at a 2005 RT 190, it checks a lot of boxes. Low mileage (56k) 100w solar on the roof, king antenna on roof, backup camera already installed, new tires, good price. All appliances and RV parts (generator Ac heater…..) will be serviced prior to sale. Now comes the bad - there are ants everywhere- it has been sitting at the rv dealer for the past 2 months (was a trade in) - my husband is concerned that we will not be able to get rid of them and I think it’s not going to be a problem- what do you think

[Boxster1971]

This stuff worked for me at home last year. Ants were gone in three days.

https://www.terro.com/store/ants/liquid-bait

[Ken Allan]

The ants probably have a nest somewhere in insulation. I am not a fan of chemicals but there are probably some you could spray around. When ants are gone, wash all surfaces. If they will eat the Terro (sugar and borax) it WILL kill them off. Not all ants seem to like it though.

I would also ask an exterminator what they would suggest...and a cost! Use that as a lever and try to get the price of the van marked down.
---KenA

[Texasnielsen]

Originally Posted by Ken Allan

The ants probably have a nest somewhere in insulation. I am not a fan of chemicals but there are probably some you could spray around. When ants are gone, wash all surfaces. If they will eat the Terro (sugar and borax) it WILL kill them off. Not all ants seem to like it though.

I would also ask an exterminator what they would suggest...and a cost! Use that as a lever and try to get the price of the van marked down.
---KenA

What Ken said. Oddly, I had an ant infestation in a small center console boat. Dual batteries and they built nests in the battery boxes only. I wondered if it was due to the batteries being on chargers and they were attracted to the current in some insect species manner?
You mentioned the solar panel. What and where is it feeding power to? If the ants are wandering all over the camper where is home for them? (Aka the queen?). Is she hiding in a solar powered throne somewhere?
Exterminating the ants is great but finding where they are hatching is a necessity also. Obviously removing that and how they entering (what’s attracting them) also being a requirement.
Get that quote on extermination and use it as leverage to lower the boom on the asking price!

[Hatteras Jim]

You didn't say what kind of ants? Piss ants (no problem) or the bigger black ones? The biggest problem with the bigger ants (IMO) is that they tend to migrate towards electronic devices and if they gain access to them, the formic acid that they secrete can play heck on circuit boards and components. I have had infestations in trail cameras, and they destroyed them. I am not a bug expert; but, these are my observations. I would also be concerned about the black carpenter ants in anything wooden. As far as on board electronics - the on board 12 volt supply/battery charger would be an area of concern. Open areas for ventilation and easy access for ants.
A professional such as Orkin has probably delt with this before. The biggest question is - can you mentally handle the fact that you had a bad infestation? When you are laying in bed at night and get that feeling that something is crawling on you? How long until that feeling that creeps you out goes away?

I would say that a mouse problem is much worse and would definitely be a deal breaker.

[Pam G]

Originally Posted by Zwillingsmama

Now comes the bad - there are ants everywhere- it has been sitting at the rv dealer for the past 2 months (was a trade in) - my husband is concerned that we will not be able to get rid of them and I think it’s not going to be a problem- what do you think

Jim has a really good point about it depends on what kind of ants are in the Roadtrek. If these are just the regular house ants or the sugar ants, I've had both in my house (1920 house so not well sealed). I use Terro. The regular house ants don't seem to like it that much so I mix it with something else. I recently found that mixing it with a little butter or honey really helped. They take the bait back to the nest, which results in killing the whole colony. A more immediate method of killing them, which isn't a chemical, is diotomaceous earth. You can get food grade diatomaceous earth. You can sprinkle some of that directly on ants and in the area where they are getting in. It dries out the exoskeleton and kills them directly. Sprinkling some around the bottom of the tires would stop them from walking up the tires. Here's a good article: https://pfharris.com/blogs/bug-blog/...n%20the%20ants.