Ant infestation in the wife’s RAV4

[70SATMan]

Anybody ever have an ant infestation in their car? I was checking the oil yesterday, topping off fluids when I noticed several ants under the hood. The little sugar type,, didn’t think much of it, then started seeing more up around the cowl.

Looked throughout the interior, didn’t see anything so thought the wife might have parked on a nest, riled some up and they came up a tire. No biggie.

This morning wife texts me from work says, ants all over in the cab!

The Rav gets driven almost daily, I’ve never encountered anything like this. Ever had a similar situation? I thought bait traps but, where and how to keep them in place when the car is moving…. Don’t want topical sprays obviously in the cab or up under the cowl where fresh air filters are..

Any suggestions? Wife is skeeved out, at work, wouldn’t surprise me if she makes me meet her this afternoon to swap cars, etc,,

[Shaun @ Tru6]

New travel buddy

[Dixie]

Eons ago I dealt with sugar ants taking over my Corvette. I sprayed the carpet with insecticide. It took a couple days, but did the trick. If it didn't, I was going to bug-bomb it, no lie.

[gchappel]

I have seen it a couple of times.
Start simple. Get a couple of ant bait traps- or make your own.
Boric acid, sugar and a little bit of water and make a paste. Dip a couple of cotton balls in it and put them where you see the most ants. In a week, ants will be gone. No smell, no mess.
good luck
gary

[vash]

I want to help.

my friend had this. you know how leaves and dirt get caught up along the wipers and windshield? they worked their way down and packed in behind the front wheels..under the rear of the fender. over the years, with decomposition and more and more debris, it was stuffed full of rich dirt looking stuff. we found the nest there. hive?..nest?

you can access the spot (in a tacoma) from the front doors. we lifted a plastic shield and found zillions of ants. a colony. we stuffed a garden hose in there and blasted out all the bio matter. no more ants in short order. it was super satisfying.

[70SATMan]

lol, gonna send that picture to the wife,,

Think I’ll start with the bait traps and hold them down along the firewall with a little RTV. Shouldn’t be a hard clean up later. Main worry was them getting up into the filters, dash. We keep the cars pretty clean so, not much of a food source. Was also worried that we might have had a mouse get up in somewhere and died but, no odd smells.

Thanks all.

[70SATMan]

Thanks Vash, good idea to look for that. Her parking area is under oaks and there is a bit of debris that needs to be cleaned out but, not a ton. Could be spots as you say that you really can’t see.

[911 Rod]

Like vash said.
My Tundra has rubber caps at the back/bottom of the quarter panels that collect debris from under the hood/windshield. After 5 years there was enough diet in there to grow a garden.

[SpyderMike]

It happened to me many years ago ... Sold the car soon after

[gacook]

Originally Posted by SpyderMike

It happened to me many years ago ... Sold the car soon after

What kind of spider sells their car to get rid of ants?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by 70SATMan

lol, gonna send that picture to the wife,,

Think I’ll start with the bait traps and hold them down along the firewall with a little RTV. Shouldn’t be a hard clean up later. Main worry was them getting up into the filters, dash. We keep the cars pretty clean so, not much of a food source. Was also worried that we might have had a mouse get up in somewhere and died but, no odd smells.

Thanks all.

I'd want to get them out of there quick to ensure that they don't start nibbling at wiring or burrowing into seat foam, etc...

If there's a bunch inside the car, then I'd do something inside the car.

[juanbenae]

I check my Generac generator a couple times a month during its maintenance runs. I've never found any, but still will spray raid around the perimeter regularly... Why? An ant invasion is not covered under warranty and is specifically stated in the docs.

[pmax]

[A930Rocket]

I had a meeting first thing in the morning years ago and when I got in the truck, it felt like there were hundreds of ants inside. I was parking in a paved lot, but the front end was touching some shrubs . I got to my meeting and as soon as it was out, I went to Kroger and picked up a can of ant killer. I unloaded the entire can on the inside of the truck. No more ants.

On another note, I was driving down the road and had two lizards crawling on the dashboard of my 14 F150. How the heck did they get in there!

[70SATMan]

Ok, that picture sent the wife over the edge. She’s gonna drive the Mini tomorrow, HA!

[HobieMarty]

I've had ants get in a car before and I used this. Put a drop on an index card and place in the floor. The ants will eat the stuff and take it back to their nest and in a day or so, no more ants.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[SpyderMike]

Originally Posted by gacook

What kind of spider sells their car to get rid of ants?

Lol! Truth be told, I am not happy about spiders either....

[Targa68]

Traps work

[Eric 951]

Originally Posted by SpyderMike

Lol! Truth be told, I am not happy about spiders either....

This guy hitched a ride with me to work this past Wednesday morning. I leave before sunrise and didn't notice him on the passenger seat--I must say he built a pretty impressive web overnight and I have no idea how he got inside.

[70SATMan]

Nice!

So, Friday the 13th,,, wife went to adjust the passenger mirror on the Mini this morning and the glass fell out and broke!

Almost afraid to open the RAV up to look for ants.



Think I’ll wait until tomorrow.