Tips for Ant Prevention
If you travel in an RV, it is likely at some point you will find Ants inside your RV. You might even find yourself the target of an invasion. If you have found yourself fighting ants, you know the trauma these harmless, tiny, little MONSTERS can cause to your mental state. Prevention is key, but infestations happen to the best of us.
An infestation happened to us a couple of months ago. We live in Florida where the ants are plentiful. We are usually very regimented in our pest control protocols. Then there was that one time we did not thoroughly prep the RV before putting it into storage. We were busy and the RV was only going to be there for a couple of days. Unfortunately, the RV was in storage longer than we expected and the ants settled in and made themselves at home. When we pulled it out of storage, we were going to be traveling for two months so we had to rid ourselves of the ants while living in the RV.
We have learned a lot from our successes at prevention and our latest failure. Below are products we use to prevent ants along with how we use them. We use a combination of products depending on whether we are focused on prevention or current infestation. We use chemicals and less toxic solutions, especially in areas where our pets live.
We use these products OUTSIDE the RV:
Raid Ant Gel – This is ultimately the secret weapon that we used to win the war when we felt like there was no end in sight. The ants flock to the gel, ingest it, and then die. We only use this outside because the ants love it and literally swarm to it. Also, it is a liquid that is hard to clean up and keep away from the dogs inside the camper. We use this when we know we have an ant issue.
Terro Liquid Ant Baits – These have always been our go to when storing the RV. The only time we did not use them, we ended up with the ant infestation. When we are traveling, we use them in the storage area and other outside areas. We only use these inside when the RV is in storage because we will have time to clean everything before reloading. We use this product all the time and find it works well for preventing ant issues.
Diatomaceaous Earth Food Grade – Ants hate this stuff and it does not hurt animals or people. We sprinkle this around the campsite to deter the ants from hanging out with us in the campsite. We use this every time we see ants outside our site.
We use these products INSIDE the RV:
Diatomaceaous Earth Food Grade – We usually use this outside because it is white powder that can be a bit messy inside. When we see ants inside, we do use this inside our cabinets and behind furniture. We find it to be very effective and it is not dangerous to our pets.
Household Cleaners or Vinegar – Did you know that Ants leave a trail for others to follow? Even if you see just a couple of ants, ensure that you wipe down the area thoroughly with cleaner. No one wants to leave an open invitation for more ants to join the party.
Alcohol & Peppermint Oil – This is our go to spray in areas we typically see ants. For us this works more as a preventative measure since Ants do not like peppermint. We spray it on our counters, near windows, and around doors. We also spray it around our slide-out. As a bonus, it smells clean and fresh.
We hope you find this information helpful. Let us know in the comments if you use these products or have other helpful tips and tricks!
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~ Sarah & Matt
