ANTS ANTS ANT !!!

[dacflyer]

fom time to time we battle ants in our traffic signal controller cabinets.
pretreatment does not last long. we typically use andros or rainbow crystals. but last night at 2am, one intersection went into flash, when i go there the cabinet was almost overflowing with ants ( fireants of course)
seems they are the only ants that have a fetish for electricity, but they been at it for the last week or so, they got into everything you can immagine ! power supply for the controller, they were all in the transformer windings, anywhere there might be a small heat source open conductor, they even seen to have found a way to get into the so called sealed relays..lol i opened the controller to view the insides, and ants fell out in balls (handsfull clumps, and bizillions of eggs,)

anyway theres no real RIGHT AWAY way to kill these ants, cannot spray anything, because of the electrical hazard, and the sprays seem to have a deterrorating effect on some wire insulations,,causing them to crack and the insulation becomes bare ,causing another problem.

vacummeing them is a loosing batttle, because you cannot get to them all, and they are swarming at the same time. not to mention that they almost will climb out of the vac as fast as they go in.

i had a good idea, but my boss will not allow me to do it, fo rthe fear that the idea will also damage the interrior of the cabinet and all thats in it..
i was thinking to use the RAID FUMMIGATOR bombs, this is a dry type of fogger, works sort of like a smoke bomb, drop the can in a small ammount of water and it goes to smoking, going into all cracks and crevices, where sprays cannot go.

anyone else have a better brighter idea ? i am tired of futile battles and getting stung by these lil'bastards!

[Bigglez]

i was thinking to use the RAID FUMMIGATOR bombs, this is a dry type of fogger.

As I read your story I thought of toxic gas. Around here it
is common to see homes "tented" and gassed (usually as
a step in the buying process).

In your case it would be better to keep the ants out,
not kill them inside later. What if you pressurized the
cabinet interior? (I assume it's water tight, but not
maybe gas tight, or the ants could not enter to begin
with).

Without oxygen they would die, right?

How about creating ozone inside the cabinet?

A low current, high voltage, corona will do that
(as seen in ancient copier machines), or a UV-C
(germicidal) lamp?

As an aside, I bought a battery operated 4W fluorescent
lattern, swapped the bulb to a UV-C type, and use
it to "see" colours of phosphor in open neon
tubes (which all look about the same in daylight).

[Lenp]

dacflyer

We had a problem with insects in cameras a few years ago. The customer watched them crawl over the enclosed lens! We beefed up the enclosure's foam gaskets, and used canned foam in the conduits. Because the foam is a problem if you do a retrofit we stuffed cotton balls dampened with, I believe it was 'Raid' in the conduit to act as a dam so the foam didn't go too far. That stopped it! We went back a year or so later and there were no critters. It would be a plus if you foamed both ends of the conduit.

Think like an ant!

Len

[psycho]

Well, I don't know if they will let you do this, but it might work.... Have a CO2 fire extinguisher slowly gas them. CO2 puts out a fire by displacing oxygen. I would think that if you could keep the CO2 in there long enough that it would work.

I would hate to have to clean up all of the dead carcasses

[dtief]

Along with sealing the box, look into ant bait stations. There is a lot of information about how to deal with ants online.

I have had good luck with sugar mixed with a pinch of boric acid. They bring it back to the nest & it kills the queen - essential to control ants.

Ants from other colonies will eventually try to re establish the nest, so keeping the bait stations in place is a good idea.

[dacflyer]

biglezz>> most times i have to erraticate these ants at once, also the cabinets are not airtight, they have vent holes and filters, also theres conduit that enters the cabinets. these antc find ways in everywhere, its impossible to bug proof them, they have also been known to eat the door seals at times.
ozone in the cabinet would be harmful as well..the electronics are sensitive as it is. and i think the ozone would cause the aluminum to corrode if i remember right..
these cabinets are outdoors at the intersections.


lenp>>> the ants do not typically come inthru the conduits..its usually a small gap somewhere. i take care of them as i see them,,but i am looking for immediate killing methods when i encounter a invasion.


Psycho >> lol...thats a bit extreme...


dtief >> we do use a lot of preventitive stuff, granuels, plug holes, keep filters in place and sealed etc. but i am trying to find a right away method to kill the ants, with out useing any wet sprays.. i just cannot convince my boss to let us use the dry foggers..Hmmm

[MrAl]

Hello,

Since you have a specific need which doesnt involve lengthly time
systems, did you try a hair dryer or hot air gun?
If you are careful, you can cook the ants and leave the wiring
alone, and the hot air gets around small compartments pretty well.
It's worth a shot anyway. At least some high temperature would
at least drive them out.
It may be possible to heat the inside of any important chambers
to keep them out also. Refrigeration would be even better, but
probably not too cheap.

[dtief]

Some of the foggers use flamable propellants. Might be a good reason not to use around electric / electronics...

[Janitor Tzap]

dacflyer,

Your boss may be right in not using the fogger.
You need to know what is in it.

A friend was using a fogger in his house, and forgot to cover up his TV.
{Oops!}
Well the dust in the fogger had aluminum phosphate it.
This caused arcing in the high voltage section of his TV.
I had too pull the set complete apart.
And vacuum it out really good to get the dust all out of it.
Plus, clean up the arcing tracks that were left behind.

Oh, yeah like dtief said"Some of the foggers use flamable propellants."
There have been lots of incidents of people blowing up their houses while
using Bug Foggers.

Unfortunately,
I'm not seeing a simple easy solution either, to your problem.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[jimandy]

The best eradicator (I am told) for fireants is not a poison but a mite. Seems as though there is one species that loves to eat the little buggers, actually chewing their heads off! You might contact the ag extension service at Auburn University down here in Alabama. We've been fighting the little ba---ds ever since they came in on a boatload of bananas from Venezuela.

[Externet]

There has to be room in the cabinet to stuff a fabric bag of mothballs... it will easily conform to the available space.
When it is time for maintenance, pull the bag, will give full access to the circuitry, then replenish or replace.
Would it be allowed ?
Miguel

[gerty]

We had a ant problem and my wife read somewhere about using a fabric softner sheet. She figured she'd give it a shot, I was amazed at how well it worked.
I think it was a 'bounce' brand but I'm not sure, anyways ,you probably have one at home and it wouldn't cost you a nickle to try it out. I used to work on the traffic lights here in middle TN and the only problems we had were hornets and dirt dobbers.

[MrAl]

Hi,

I have to 2nd the idea 'bout the mothballs. I forgot all about them
and it's funny because we use them here in the garbage cans to
keep the stray animals away from the cans, where they like to
tear open the bags and mess up the place. Now that i think about
it, i think it keeps the flies away too, which like to lay eggs in the cans
and one day there is 1000 larvae crawling all over the things.

[Dean Huster]

Think like an ant!

I do! Eat 'way too much sugar!

I heard somewhere that an ant can live for several days under water. Unless they're getting their oxygen through their body, I'd think that an ant would be difficult to suffocate.

Lots of stuff will chase them out of the cabinet. But then where will they go. Seems that you have to either kill them or prevent their entry into the house. Back in the 1960s, the fix was to plant mint around the house. 'Course, if you live in Arizona and there isn't a succulent variety of mint .... hey! That might not be a bad idea, horticulturists! Squeeze of mint in that tea, sir?

Dean

[Janitor Tzap]

How about a possible electronic solution.

I've put out "Mole Minders" to drive away moles from our yard.
Basically a 555 timer that triggers a buzzer every 20-30 seconds.

There are those ultrasonic noise makers.
Heres a site that carries them.
http://www.shopfromyourhome.com/Merchan ... ol_Outdoor
Supposedly it sends out a noise, or vibration that drives insects away.
But I've never seen one.

You could set one up next to the traffic signal controller cabinet,
and see what happens.
{They do have a 30 day money back guarantee.}
{So, if it fails, you can at least get your money back.}


Signed: Janitor Tzap