What a wonderful website! Wish I came across it sooner. We purchased a camper and it ended up having carpenter ants!!! We bought it from a dealer (used) and they went well above and beyond to remedy the problem. This was last september. They took off all the siding, found 1 huge nest near the front and 1 small near the rear. Turns out the previous owners had it parked near a infested tree. Our biggest fear is now that spring is here they might come back.. I don’t have a problem on my property. What is good to ensure they do not return??
No doubt a vacant camper is a great place for many insects to use as their “home”. And once the structure gets “marked” as a good location to nest, there tends to be repeat issues. This is especially true with carpenter ants.
The good news is that if the old nests were completely destroyed, they won’t be back immediately. But if you leave the camper unprotected, it could very well attract nearby ants which in turn could start new nests. You see, like many other species of ant, carpenter ant nests have very distinct odors and scent trails when nesting. And though undetectable by people, these smells can serve as a beacon to ants far away.
Basically these odors can be linked to a good place to nest, a good place to feed or in some cases, a very distinct territory. But when the active populous is removed, the odors will remain and still attract interest for years. And once the camper is found by a new supply of ants as being “open and available for nesting”, a new problem can easily start.
To prevent this from happening, you have a few treatment options. The simplest bit of preventive treatment you can do would be to treat all exterior cracks and crevices with an aerosol called PHANTOM. This product goes on dry and is odorless making it ideal for use both inside and outside any structure. Phantom is not detectable by insects so they’ll readily walk over the treatment. When this happens they will pick up small amounts of chemical and in turn, transfer it to other members of their colony. Now after 2-4 days of being exposed to Phantom, it will become active which in turn will kill any ant that has been exposed. This means you can readily kill nests far away even if only 1-2 ants walked over a treatment.
Phantom Aerosol: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/aerosol/pt-phantom-14-oz
The only limit of the Phantom is that it will only last 3-4 weeks so you’ll need to keep using it throughout the spring, summer and fall. To avoid having to treat on a regular basis, go with DRIONE DUST instead. Drione will last a good 6-12 months and works well on carpenter ants. Basically they will readily detect its presence but because they hate it so much, they’ll avoid any area where its been applied. Like the Phantom, you’ll need to treat every crack and crevice on the exterior of the home. Drione is like “smoke” and will readily penetrate all hidden voids and spaces where it will sit and linger for many months. This makes all routes of entry unpassable by any insect so they won’t be able to use it for nesting. Use a HAND DUSTER to make the application and expect to use 1/2 lb of Drione per treatment.
Drione: https://bugspray.com/catalog/insecticide/dust/drione-dust
Hand Duster: https://bugspray.com/equipment/dusters/crusader
Give us a call if you need more help. Our toll free is 1-800-877-7290 and we’re open 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Mon-Thur, Eastern Standard Time.
Jonathan
Customer Care
https://bugspray.com
1-800-877-7290
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