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Ants in Da Pants!


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Even though we have our own special circumstances with hides here in Florida, one of the things that we share with other states and hides is our little friend, the ant. I have a couple hides that are cored out logs or sticks or other wooden objects (won't say exactly what to ruin some surprises) that are on or near the ground. Some of them have a lot of work in them but seem to often be a haven for ants. I guess when you make something dry and secure for the container, the ants appreciate the same thing when house shopping.

 

I have tried several things from spraying them with bug spray before hiding them, or using eucalyptus oil on them in the field, but the ants seem to return to some of them over and over. Not a pleasant find to pull back a handful of ants (luckily fire ants don't care for those spots). Some of these are pretty intense hikes to get to so regular maintenance isn't fun.

 

Does anyone have some trick that works to do something to keep the ants out of the hides????

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Have you tried mint oil? When working on multi-family buildings you need a license for pesticide, including the ones you get and use at home. Raid could get you in big trouble. The point is that there are a few of the bug sprays that work by chasing the ants away instead of poisoning them. Mint oil is the active ingredient in many such sprays. It is even usable in commercial kitchens as it is a "food grade" product. Just make sure you read the label.

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Have you tried mint oil? When working on multi-family buildings you need a license for pesticide, including the ones you get and use at home. Raid could get you in big trouble. The point is that there are a few of the bug sprays that work by chasing the ants away instead of poisoning them. Mint oil is the active ingredient in many such sprays. It is even usable in commercial kitchens as it is a "food grade" product. Just make sure you read the label.
Have not tried mint oil but am going to try eucalyptus oil, like in the natural bug repellents (which IMHO are like salad dressing to the Florida skeeters... it doesn't keep them away). I don't spray pesticides in the wild and the ones I do use before hiding are natural based pyretherins. Only tried that once with pretty good results but only for a short time.

 

Was caching in a light rain once out in the middle of nowhere and found a full sized cache in the base of a downed oak tree. Had to squat down in a cave like area in the roots with thorny vines all draping down everywhere. Didn't notice that a bottom corner was worn though on the big Tupperware container and some guests moved in. The lid was tight and had to hold it between my legs and use both hands to break it free. When it popped loose several bazillion big black ants and ant eggs spewed all in my lap and all over me. I made a mess busting thru the vines and roots to get them off me. Not fun.

 

I figure there's got to be a way to keep the ants out. Or maybe I could borrow sbell111's pet and send it in first to scope the area out :unsure: Great pix... hehehehe

Edited by infiniteMPG
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Have you tried mint oil? When working on multi-family buildings you need a license for pesticide, including the ones you get and use at home. Raid could get you in big trouble. The point is that there are a few of the bug sprays that work by chasing the ants away instead of poisoning them. Mint oil is the active ingredient in many such sprays. It is even usable in commercial kitchens as it is a "food grade" product. Just make sure you read the label.
Have not tried mint oil but am going to try eucalyptus oil, like in the natural bug repellents (which IMHO are like salad dressing to the Florida skeeters... it doesn't keep them away). I don't spray pesticides in the wild and the ones I do use before hiding are natural based pyretherins. Only tried that once with pretty good results but only for a short time.

 

Was caching in a light rain once out in the middle of nowhere and found a full sized cache in the base of a downed oak tree. Had to squat down in a cave like area in the roots with thorny vines all draping down everywhere. Didn't notice that a bottom corner was worn though on the big Tupperware container and some guests moved in. The lid was tight and had to hold it between my legs and use both hands to break it free. When it popped loose several bazillion big black ants and ant eggs spewed all in my lap and all over me. I made a mess busting thru the vines and roots to get them off me. Not fun.

 

I figure there's got to be a way to keep the ants out. Or maybe I could borrow sbell111's pet and send it in first to scope the area out :unsure: Great pix... hehehehe

 

You can use permethrin on camo cloth tape, it dries quickly and survives in the weather for sometime. I used to spray my uniform with it and it would still work after even a few washings. Just make sure its dry before placing out since it should not be used on skin (though its ok after drying).

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Sorry but I couldn't help but laugh out loud. We have a guy at work that is terrified of ants and spiders. I have a grand old time picking these "creepy crawlies" up and letting them crawl all over my arms. The guy is like 6feet tall, built like a tank, and runs screaming like a little girl if I hold out my hand with a spider on it. Come to think of it, the little girls I remember didn't scream like that.

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You can use permethrin on camo cloth tape, it dries quickly and survives in the weather for sometime. I used to spray my uniform with it and it would still work after even a few washings. Just make sure its dry before placing out since it should not be used on skin (though its ok after drying).
Could this be applied safely in the field? For example a small cache container in a hollowed out log, the container keeps the ants out of the cache but the log tends to attract ants to the area around the container. Just trying to keep them out of the hiding spot, I agree the container itself should protect the contents. We have even had small camo bags with micros hanging in trees totally fill with ants and their eggs.

 

Hey gof1, sounds like your co-worker needs some desensitization therapy... need us to send him a care package filled with palmetto bugs? ("palmetto bugs" - Florida slang for "monsterously big friggin' cockroaches!") :unsure:

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You can use permethrin on camo cloth tape, it dries quickly and survives in the weather for sometime. I used to spray my uniform with it and it would still work after even a few washings. Just make sure its dry before placing out since it should not be used on skin (though its ok after drying).
Could this be applied safely in the field? For example a small cache container in a hollowed out log, the container keeps the ants out of the cache but the log tends to attract ants to the area around the container. Just trying to keep them out of the hiding spot, I agree the container itself should protect the contents. We have even had small camo bags with micros hanging in trees totally fill with ants and their eggs.

 

Hey gof1, sounds like your co-worker needs some desensitization therapy... need us to send him a care package filled with palmetto bugs? ("palmetto bugs" - Florida slang for "monsterously big friggin' cockroaches!") :unsure:

 

I don't see why not, many times I have treated my boots, socks and other items out in the woods. The stuff is real toxic to bugs, but rather safe for us unless applied directly to the skin. If it's the log they want, maybe you should spray the paper and let it dry before placing in the cache.

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You can use permethrin on camo cloth tape, it dries quickly and survives in the weather for sometime. I used to spray my uniform with it and it would still work after even a few washings. Just make sure its dry before placing out since it should not be used on skin (though its ok after drying).
Could this be applied safely in the field? For example a small cache container in a hollowed out log, the container keeps the ants out of the cache but the log tends to attract ants to the area around the container. Just trying to keep them out of the hiding spot, I agree the container itself should protect the contents. We have even had small camo bags with micros hanging in trees totally fill with ants and their eggs.

 

Hey gof1, sounds like your co-worker needs some desensitization therapy... need us to send him a care package filled with palmetto bugs? ("palmetto bugs" - Florida slang for "monsterously big friggin' cockroaches!") :unsure:

 

I don't see why not, many times I have treated my boots, socks and other items out in the woods. The stuff is real toxic to bugs, but rather safe for us unless applied directly to the skin. If it's the log they want, maybe you should spray the paper and let it dry before placing in the cache.

Rereading the post I think you meant the tree log, in that case yes it is safe to spray on wood. it will keep them off for weeks at a time.

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Rereading the post I think you meant the tree log, in that case yes it is safe to spray on wood. it will keep them off for weeks at a time.
Yup, I'm glad I read your second post before asking "What paper?" :unsure: Need to take something out and treat some of these that seem to get ants bad. Kind of the nature of the beast I think, they tend to migrate to protected from the weather spots and that's kind of what we create to hide the cache container in.
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Hey gof1, sounds like your co-worker needs some desensitization therapy... need us to send him a care package filled with palmetto bugs? ("palmetto bugs" - Florida slang for "monsterously big friggin' cockroaches!") :unsure:

 

No, I don't want to have to find a replacement for him. It's hard to find someone with just the right balance of strong back and weak mind. Besides, it'd screw up the Tim Horton's rotation.

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I would suggest baby powder...the ants don't like it and will move on but it won't kill them...however that would be a big white powdery arrow pointing to the cache.

 

edited to add...that would only work till it rains anyway...guess that's not much help.

Edited by TMDMom
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I would suggest baby powder...the ants don't like it and will move on but it won't kill them...however that would be a big white powdery arrow pointing to the cache. edited to add...that would only work till it rains anyway...guess that's not much help.
Actually, the hiding spots are exposed to the rain (which is probably why the ants are attracted there) so the powder wouldn't be a give away if it was done carefully. But then again everyone finding the cache would have power all over them and it would probably end up giving the hide away....

 

Where can I buy camo colored powder? :grin:

 

Found some permethrin spray at the local Wally-World and going to try some of that this weekend (need to make a maintenance run). Hope it works and thanks for the advice.

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