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How to Get Rid of Ants in Campers

Mary Ylisela

Ants and the great outdoors go hand-in-hand, but that doesn't mean you want the tiny pests making their way into your camper. Ants serve an important purpose by cleaning up food crumbles, decaying leaves and eating produce left to rot on the vine or bush.

Ants in the camper are uninvited guests.

Although most ants will dine on these natural food resources, when spilled beverages or dropped crumbs are left to sit in your camper, they provide an easy, attractive meal to ants. Once the ants determine that your camper provides them with food, they will return again and again until you take steps to permanently get rid of them.

Tip

Keeping your camper clean is a vital part of preventing ant infestations. At the end of each season and beginning of the next, give the camper a thorough cleaning to remove anything that might attract ants. Repeat these ant-removing techniques for several weeks to ensure any ant nests inside the camper are completely exterminated.

  1. Vacuum or sweep out your camper to remove crumbs and debris from inside. Open any built-in features, such as fold-up beds, tables and chairs, to vacuum or sweep there, as well.

  2. A clean camper is less likely to attract ants.
  3. Wash the surfaces inside your camper with an all-purpose cleaner and hot water solution in a bucket. Clean the walls, bathroom and kitchen surfaces, and floors to remove sticky spills or anything else that might attract the ants.

  4. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the floor and on other surfaces where people or pets will be present. Diatomaceous earth is a fine powder that's safe for pets and people but cuts into the exoskeleton of the ants, causing them to dehydrate and die within a few days. Apply more diatomaceous earth each time after you vacuum.

  5. Pour powdered boric acid into a disposable caulking gun to fill it two-thirds of the way. Use the caulking gun to squirt the boric acid into any gaps around piping, inside cupboards or along baseboards, where ants might come in and out. Apply the boric acid powder when these areas are out of the reach of small children and pets.

  6. Locate ant hills outside of your camper to see where the ants might be coming from. Pour 1 cup baking soda down the ant hills. Wait 30 minutes, then follow the baking soda with 1 cup white vinegar. The mixture will foam then settle into the ant nest where ants will eat it and die.

The Drip Cap

  • Ants and the great outdoors go hand-in-hand, but that doesn't mean you want the tiny pests making their way into your camper.
  • Although most ants will dine on these natural food resources, when spilled beverages or dropped crumbs are left to sit in your camper, they provide an easy, attractive meal to ants.
  • Diatomaceous earth is a fine powder that's safe for pets and people but cuts into the exoskeleton of the ants, causing them to dehydrate and die within a few days.
  • Apply more diatomaceous earth each time after you vacuum.