Ants in my Pants

Buy an anteater.

bug bomb and a big blue tarp, with the doors propped open?

dang, that stinks!

Kate

| > > I'm driving along today and notice an itty-bitty ant walking on the | inside of | > > my windshield. I kill it. | > >

| > > Then I notice another. | > >

| > > Then one on my dash. | > >

| > > Then on on my console. | > >

| > > Each one I see, I kill, but I keep seeing more. | > >

| > > I have no idea where they came from, and I don't really care -- I just | want | > > them GONE! | > >

| > > Any ideas for getting ants out of my car? | > >

| > >

| > > - Max - | > > ======= | > > Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus | >

| > Buy an anteater. | >

| |

Right. But first, be sure you've got every bit of possible food out of the car. Do a through cleaning of the insides and the ants will leave.

If all else fails, try the bug bomb, but you may have to air the car out for a day or two.

let the car sit in the sun with the windows up for a long period of time so its real hot... then spray some insect repellant in the car and close all the doors and windows and let sit for about an hour or two... then open the doors and windows so you can breath for a while.. you can hurry this along with a box fan sitting in the car to blow out the fumes.... that ought to do it for some time.. they are going after coke spills in the car or when you have groceries in the trunk and some (minute particles that you cant see fall to the carpet)..

Or... if you don't want to fill your car with bug spray....

First, like everyone said, CLEAN the inside of the car really well... vacuum good and then wash everything down with heavy-duty cleaner, etc (as you should every now and then anyway). Then... leave the doors open and put a bowl of cut fruit on the ground next to the car... the ants will come running out of the car! (ha ha) Seriously, I think a good vacuuming and cleaning is all you need. Any couple of ants that might get past that stage will most likely just die off. They won't live or stay in there too long if there isn't food or water. Hey, do you have a vert? Do you keep the car under a tree or near tall bushes? If the car is left open near trees/shrubs, this is another way to invite ants into the car, especially if the car has any traces of food in it. Well, if you think ants are bad.... I had squirrels living under the hood and inside the front fenders of my `75 Buick Century... boy, it was real tough to get them out. I opened the hood one day and a squirrel jumped out and nearly attacked me... the others held their ground... I tried spraying them with a garden hose from 20 feet away, they still did not leave. Or with my `76 Trans-Am... I had removed the AC system which left a small hole in the firewall... before I had a chance to complete that job, a cat got inside the car and had kittens!!!! In my car!!! Imagine coming out to your car to find a big cat with several kittens INSIDE you car. It did not smell to good in there either. Never had an ant problem though, thank goodness.

Hehe,

Reminds me of a time when my (now sold) project mustang was sitting for about 6 months untouched. I went to open the hood to begin working on it again... I popped the hood, went out and reached in above the grille to open the hood, lifted the hood, grabbed the prop rod and CRUNCH, stuck the prop rod right through a huge yellow-jacket nest that had been built about the size of a saucer under the hood! I musta' ran for 2 miles before they gave up chasing me! I was just happy I didn't get a handful of them when I reached in to lift the hood, that was a miracle!

But in answer to your question, I don't believe ants will stay where there is no food. You may think your car is clean, but if you have friends or kids that ride in your vehicle often, look around, I bet you find something, an old peice of candy, a burger wrapper or something spiled... :)

CoogarXR

Be careful. The chemicals concentrated like that may not be so kind to paint and plastics. John

My wife's van had the same problem. We used some ant traps spread throughout - one on the dash, one one floorboard in front, and one in the floor board in back. After about a week it cleared up the ant problem.

HTH, bcc

After reading this, I had that Jackie-Mason-sound-a-like cartoon anteater's voice running through my head for the rest of the day.

- Max - ======= Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus

In my case, it's an Orkin lady.

Actually converstion when she was spraying my garage:

Orkin Lady: Ooooooh, whee! I bet that car sure is fast!

MCW: So they tell me. I don't like tickets, so I don't yet know!

- Max - ======= Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus

It seemed to be a temporary problem. I don't know where they came from, and I don't know where they went to.

I got home last night from an extended, two-week road trip. Today, I gave the interior a good cleaning. The only foreign object I found (besides the standard dirt in the carpet and dust on the dash and console) was a wrapper from a pack of Extra sugar-free gum (it had dropped between the seat and center console). There was no food or spilled drinks (I only drink diet stuff, anyway, so I don't think ants would be attracted to that).

I couldn't find any evidence that they were ever there in the first place.

I'm hoping it was just a one-time fluke.

- Max - ======= My baby's gonna smell like leather treatment for a few days.

BTW, I never thanked you for your more-than-glowing recommendation for Invisable Glass.

You're right . . . that stuff effin' rocks!

Thank you!

- Max - ======= Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus

This happened to us while we were at Mustang Week at Myrtle Beach! I went to the car wash, vacuumed out the car, and sprayed Raid Ant stuff all over LOL Then, that night at the hotel, I sprayed a Raid perimeter line around my car. I've never had anything like that happen before, and they were marching, in 100's in my Mustang!

"Max C. Webster III" wrote: