It started about a week ago. I saw a few black ants on the sill of the window on the driver side. I sprayed them with some stuff I had in the car, actually it was some bathtub cleaner. And they were gone. But over the last week more have arrived, and today there are lots on the driver side and the passenger side. But so far only in the front.
I’m at the car dealer where I always take my car for service and the guy used a leaf blower to blow a bunch of them out. He also took the driver door panel off, but we didn’t see big nests of them in there or anything. Hopefully they are transitory. But he said if they get in the engine and start messing with the wires I’ll be in a world of hurt.
So my question to the Dope is where do I go and what kind of help do I need for this? Do I need an exterminator? Need answer fast.
My car had a minor ant infection once. I sprayed and wiped everywhere with Windex at the time of day the ants were most active (pre-dawn for the ants I had). This removes all of their scent trails. The spray also seemed bad for their health.
While it’s satisfying to physically remove them, eliminating their food source is the only actual cure. So, as mentioned, removing all food, including vacuuming the tiny food particles, is necessary.
Thanks for those speedy answers. I’m home now and have moved the car away from trees. Stopped at the grocery store, bought a dozen ant baits, and have deployed them inside the car in the areas where the ants have been swarming. I did vacuum at the beginning of this, but I think I will have to do more.
I don’t need to go anywhere until Sunday, so I can give the baits plenty of time to work.
Side note: I was speeding this morning and a motorcycle cop pulled me over. When I rolled down the window to talk to him, it must have stirred up the ants, and dozens and dozens of them swarmed on the window sill of the driver’s door. I freaked out and got out of the car. (I know you’re not supposed to do this, but it was an emergency. Sort of.) The next few minutes were spent with the officer brushing the ants off of me and me swatting the ants with a cloth I keep in the pocket of the door. He told me about the time this happened to him-- only it was tiny spiders and his wife refused to ride in that car until he got rid of them. The upshot is that he took pity on me, saying, “You don’t need a ticket today-- you’ve got enough trouble,” for which I was very grateful! (I really was speeding, too.) He said, “I guess it’s a good thing I pulled you over because you might have noticed the ants while you were driving and had an accident. Sometimes God uses me in mysterious ways.” How 'bout that.
I would not worry much about that. Some mustelids may chew through cables, but small black ants will not cause any harm there.
Time to watch The Naked Jungle again, I guess.
I was fleet manager for the local NHS, and a Health Visitor (They visit families at their homes for a few weeks after a birth) came to see me. She had bites all over her ankles and was horrified to be told that her car was infested with Pulex irritans. She had a pretty good idea where they came from (a pig farm) but there was little she could do about that.
I spoke to a lady at the local council who recommended a local company that used steam and some powerful chemicals to deal with the little buggers
Yeah, if there’s that many you’ll have to visit a highly competent car detailer or exterminator to find the queen’s chamber and take her and her offspring out, IF either kind of business considers such a part of their job. I (reluctantly*) used the baits for some carpenter ants in my place last month, haven’t seen one since they swarmed 3 of the traps. [*I was the kind of kid who would bug his parents for ant farms and such note, and in a way I kind of miss them now]
Is this ant month or something? I just had an infestation, too! It wasn’t a ton of ants, but enough to be concerning. I did discovered the tiny invaders Monday morning while driving to work. I spent my commute smooshing them with paper towels, and did the same on the ride home.
Once I got home, I made sure to toss my gum, mints, etc from the glove box, then sprayed the door jambs, and the floorboards with ant killer, locked it up, and got on with my day.
I had to roll the windows down for the commute Tuesday, but there were no ants.
Another trick is that once you get your car out in the open with nothing above it, spray powerful ant killer on all of the tires and the ground around the tires. This way, if they are getting up on your car via those routes, they will carry the poison back to their nest and terminate not only themselves but their nest mates.
I seem to get ants once a year in the spring. I generally spray some bug killer once or twice in the area that they come in from, and keeps them away for another year.
However I noticed that they always avoid the one cabinet in which I have been sloppy with coffee grind spillage. I then googled it, and learned that they hate coffee. So this year (and thanks for the reminder!) my plan is to sprinkle coffee grinds on their usual entry spot. Hopefully that will turn them right around.
But my point is, in a pinch, coffee grinds can keep them away too.
I’ve read that ants and many other insects don’t like tea leaves either. Certainly, since I started brewing looseleaf black tea on the regular (and not always cleaning up spilled used tea leaves with total immediacy and efficiency, ahem), I seem to see way fewer ants, fruitflies, etc.
(And this is despite usually keeping an open (though regularly emptied) compost container in the kitchen, except in the height of summer when it lives in the fridge.)
and his wife refused to ride in that car until he got rid of them. The upshot is that he took pity on me, saying, “You don’t need a ticket today-- you’ve got enough trouble,” for which I was very grateful! (I really was speeding, too.) He said, “I guess it’s a good thing I pulled you over because you might have noticed the ants while you were driving and had an accident. Sometimes God uses me in mysterious ways.” How 'bout that. 