Nautical Ant invasion

OFD232 · 08-10-2009, 08:31 AM

Ok, so for the second time in two years I have had an ant invasion, It looked like a scene from the old Sci Fi movie "THEM". Problem is the ants were in the storage compartment of my pontoon compartments of my 22 footer parked at the end of a fifty foot dock. I have heard of army ants but never navy ants. My wife and I recreated a scene from a medievil flick by pouring hot water on them and tossing them over board along with their eggs, making the local fish happy I hope. I have tried ant traps and stuff but the little buggers keep returning. We keep the boat clean and rarely eat on it. Anyone else have this problem and are there any other solutions other than hiring an anteater. Seriously though HELP !!!!!!

Airwaves · 08-10-2009, 12:15 PM

You might want to pull the boat for a couple of hours and resort to chemical warfare (that's why I suggest pulling the boat vs doing it in the water) I use Ortho Home Defense at our place for spiders.

Also check the plywood decking and see if the ants (probably carpenter ants) have done any damage.

NoBozo · 08-10-2009, 02:00 PM

(1954) Charlton Heston "The Naked Jungle". The ants were pretty clever. They would cut broadleaf leaves off bushes on shore and transport the leaf down to the water and "launch" the leaf. Then many ants would "board" the leaf and off they went across the water filled ditch that Heston dug around the plantation house to protect it. These ants would actually attack and eat a Large person in a matter of hours.

A short review of the movie: http://www.rateitall.com/i-941575-na...leiningen.aspx

Mee-n-Mac · 08-12-2009, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OFD232

Ok, so for the second time in two years I have had an ant invasion, It looked like a scene from the old Sci Fi movie "THEM". Problem is the ants were in the storage compartment of my pontoon compartments of my 22 footer parked at the end of a fifty foot dock. I have heard of army ants but never navy ants. My wife and I recreated a scene from a medievil flick by pouring hot water on them and tossing them over board along with their eggs, making the local fish happy I hope. I have tried ant traps and stuff but the little buggers keep returning. We keep the boat clean and rarely eat on it. Anyone else have this problem and are there any other solutions other than hiring an anteater. Seriously though HELP !!!!!!

That's a new one for me. I've yet to see ants on any boat I've had but perhaps that's because all the spiders ate them.

I have to believe they're getting aboard via the lines ties to the dock posts or perhaps across the fenders. Perhaps you could treat the posts with some poison (Terro) ? Spray the undersides of the dock with something effective ?? Maybe you need more spiders ....

Emjay · 08-14-2009, 02:47 AM

This summer, I came home to find my roadside mailbox crawling with thousands of ants carrying eggs - it was disgusting! I think all the rain was causing them to escape their nests to higher ground. I remembered my mail person mentioned that if I ever found ants in my mailbox to use cloves - that they hate cloves. I sprinkled a generous amount of ground cloves in my mailbox and went back inside. The next day, they were all gone. I left some cloves on the bottom of my mailbox.

The second time, about five weeks later, they appeared in my newspaper box and again the cloves worked.

Try it because it's not poison and it works. You can always vacuum up the ground cloves. I would just sprinkle a whole container of ground cloves all over and see what happens. You can always use bug spray if the cloves don't work for you.

08-10-2009, 08:31 AM	#1
OFD232 Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Billerica Posts: 42 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Nautical Ant invasion Ok, so for the second time in two years I have had an ant invasion, It looked like a scene from the old Sci Fi movie "THEM". Problem is the ants were in the storage compartment of my pontoon compartments of my 22 footer parked at the end of a fifty foot dock. I have heard of army ants but never navy ants. My wife and I recreated a scene from a medievil flick by pouring hot water on them and tossing them over board along with their eggs, making the local fish happy I hope. I have tried ant traps and stuff but the little buggers keep returning. We keep the boat clean and rarely eat on it. Anyone else have this problem and are there any other solutions other than hiring an anteater. Seriously though HELP !!!!!! __________________ Never argue with an idiot, they will just drag you done to their level and beat you with experience

08-10-2009, 12:15 PM	#2
Airwaves Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: I'm right here! Posts: 1,153 Thanks: 9 Thanked 102 Times in 37 Posts	You might want to pull the boat for a couple of hours and resort to chemical warfare (that's why I suggest pulling the boat vs doing it in the water) I use Ortho Home Defense at our place for spiders. Also check the plywood decking and see if the ants (probably carpenter ants) have done any damage.

08-10-2009, 02:00 PM	#3
NoBozo Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Portsmouth. RI Posts: 2,231 Thanks: 400 Thanked 460 Times in 308 Posts	(1954) Charlton Heston "The Naked Jungle". The ants were pretty clever. They would cut broadleaf leaves off bushes on shore and transport the leaf down to the water and "launch" the leaf. Then many ants would "board" the leaf and off they went across the water filled ditch that Heston dug around the plantation house to protect it. These ants would actually attack and eat a Large person in a matter of hours. A short review of the movie: http://www.rateitall.com/i-941575-na...leiningen.aspx

08-14-2009, 02:47 AM	#5
Emjay Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	This summer, I came home to find my roadside mailbox crawling with thousands of ants carrying eggs - it was disgusting! I think all the rain was causing them to escape their nests to higher ground. I remembered my mail person mentioned that if I ever found ants in my mailbox to use cloves - that they hate cloves. I sprinkled a generous amount of ground cloves in my mailbox and went back inside. The next day, they were all gone. I left some cloves on the bottom of my mailbox. The second time, about five weeks later, they appeared in my newspaper box and again the cloves worked. Try it because it's not poison and it works. You can always vacuum up the ground cloves. I would just sprinkle a whole container of ground cloves all over and see what happens. You can always use bug spray if the cloves don't work for you.