Electric ants?

[p911dad]

I went out in the barn and the lights were out. I traced over to the GFI, lifted the cover and found many, many tiny ants swarming out of the GFI. (what the heck?) So I killed the power back at the house on that circuit and went back out with some ant spray and wiped them out. It appears they ruined the GFI, so off the Lowes for a new one. OK, easy enough- have any of y'all ever heard or seen something like this? That is the only place I could find any of these ants. There is no food, dog food or anything else to attract them, and no ant hills near the barn. Totally puzzled. Thanks

[Alan A]

Enclosed space methinks.
Our mailbox gets them every year.

[A930Rocket]

Ants like warm dry places. I was talking to a guy from the power company, and they toss a bag of ant killer, into the transformers and pedestals.

Years ago, I went to my parents place and checked the mailbox. The mailbox was in a brick column. I open up the mailbox door, and the inside is covered in ants and ant eggs. I slammed the door shut, go inside get ant spray, go back outside and there’s not an ant to be found.

[GH85Carrera]

Same thing happened to me. Our koi pond is run by a GFI box. One outlet with two plugs. I noticed the pond pump was not pumping, and after inspection I found the (expletives deleted) little black ants had eaten the insulation off of the wires, about a 2 feet back inside the conduit. They finally got to a point where the wires shorted. I had to dig out a lot of the garden and dig up the conduit until I got far enough back to have good wired and a place to repair the wires, and replace the old GFI box.

Those little black ants have just one good redeeming feature, they don't bite of sting. They will make a new nest in all sorts of weird places.

[Pazuzu]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasberry_crazy_ant

They love electrical boxes.

[look 171]

Puff some boric acid in there. Ants-be-gone within a week. They take it back to the nest and kill off the rest. Buy the hand puff thingy. A very thin layer works like magic especially roaches.

I had the start of a roach infestation in my rental. Went through three companies to get rid of them. No luck, they came right back within 2 months. I bought a bag of boric acid that came with a puffer. Two weeks, not one in sight even with lights off. happy tenant and owner now. Cheap too, 12 bucks for a bag that last a long time

[masraum]

Originally Posted by p911dad

I went out in the barn and the lights were out. I traced over to the GFI, lifted the cover and found many, many tiny ants swarming out of the GFI. (what the heck?) So I killed the power back at the house on that circuit and went back out with some ant spray and wiped them out. It appears they ruined the GFI, so off the Lowes for a new one. OK, easy enough- have any of y'all ever heard or seen something like this? That is the only place I could find any of these ants. There is no food, dog food or anything else to attract them, and no ant hills near the barn. Totally puzzled. Thanks

ants love warm enclosed spaces.

Many years ago, when I moved out of the dorms and into an apt, I bought a waterbed (cheapest bed that can be had). I had ants crawl up the wire to the heating pad and make a tiny little nest in the case around the electronics for the heater.

I've also found other similar (outdoor electronics) instances to what you describe over the years. Geckos and other bugs also like to inhabit electric boxes, I believe, because they are warm and protected.

[Monkey Wrench]

borax and icing sugar works, they pack it all home and kill the nest,

i just noticed them in a cloth recycling bag I had hung up in the sun, I had put mineral oil on my hands and wiped it off and the paper towel was in there, maybe it attracted them, they were marching back and forth.

my hands had seen some abuse from getting them in too many solvents and dirty and frequent washing so they were dry, the mineral oil helps my skin be less receptive and seems to add some moisture back in.

ive been using borax and washing soda in a electrolysis bath to remove rust, I dump the soapy rusty water where they like to dig out my sidewalk by removing sand. I think it will deter them, for a while anyway.. the little critters can pack the sand out then the sidewalk shifts because of the sand removal.

i guess code varies by area, but I think it is code there that buried cables need to be inside tech cable, not conduit. conduit is for indoor use. it wont seal out water,

[herr_oberst]

They found my coffee maker once. Thousands of 'em. Millions! It only happened once, but wow, what a weird occurrence!

[p911dad]

Thanks guys! I will get some boric acid and give that a try. I repaired it today, no sign of the little critters. This was a 2 shirt morning here, humidity was off the chart, been raining off and on all week, so good to get that done and back in the AC! Electric ants my azz!

[look 171]

you sprayed it so no ants will go there for a long time but they will go elsewhere. Now boric acid will not work. Once you find another area full of ants, don't do anything but sprinkle some boric acid or puff some in there or cracks in and around the house. They carry it back to nest and kill off the colony