Is nature telling me something??

[cancan]

Well to cut a long story short, the young guys at work had entered into the corporate triathlon on the Gold Coast on Saturday and 1 of the guys pulled out at the last minute and they were desperate (very) to find a fill in and I was the last person left to ask so for some stupid reason that I still don't understand I agreed so to save a very early morning trip down the coast we decided to that the CT down Friday after I got home and spend the weekend there.
So in typical fashion Qantas was late getting me home (have not had a flight anywhere near on time yet) so it was a chuck and dash down the coast, and going off topic the Jeep performed faultlessly, so started to set the CT up and I noticed there was a big wet patch on the awning. We haven't used the CT since the last Myswag trip to Sandy creek and it was packed dry and stored under a tarp so I went touched it and suddenly the wet patch moved....basically the canvas was alive with ants. We set up and they were everywhere.
Went for a drive and found some spray, got back  and went on a killing spree (had to get another can) followed by a cleaning spree and after a couple of hours I finally had it good enough for the girls to sleep in but the next day there were still more (more killing) and again today.
Tomorrows job is to pull everything out and go over everything and everywhere (even found one wheel covered in them when packing up) but in the end I put it down to nature telling me to get out more otherwise they are taking over... just can't plan to get away on a Friday..that would be relying on Qantas to much

[D4D]

How did you go in the triathlon

[HEM19X]

Yep, certainly sounds like you need to set up more often... we are lucky enough to have a large shed so we can set it up and leave it up for a few days.

[TOPNDR]

Gees cancan, you must pick the wrong trips or something. I flew Qantas last week from Cairns to Ayers Rock to Alice to Darwin, and then home to Cairns and we were early on all four sectors!

As for your wet patch, eeeewww yuk!

 

[cancan]

How did you go in the triathlon

I survived…just.  95 was the last time I swam more than 15m and even then only just so the swim just killed me (I went last so high tide and full sun). Had to put air in the tyres of the bike hadn’t used that in months and I picked my pace up in the run when I saw the finish then found out it was half way and I had to run past the finish and come back so I wasn’t happy with my time but at least I know how unfit I am and will make an effort to fix that after I finish this beer.

Gees cancan, you must pick the wrong trips or something. I flew Qantas last week from Cairns to Ayers Rock to Alice to Darwin, and then home to Cairns and we were early on all four sectors!

I think its just the flight as my flights to work are mostly on time…but I got a beer this trip which is more than the week before...maybe the beer is what killed me in the triathlon....best have a bourbon from now on I think

[tagman]

I have had a problem with ants also. Now we put "ant sand" around the bed matress, under the cover when we pack up and inside the trailer. Just a sprinkle - all up about 1/2 a teaspoon.
No more ant problems.

[cancan]

Thanks Tagman. went to buy some ant sand but everything was closed due to public holiday here so will get some when I am home this weekend.

I did pull everything out and go through every nook and cranny and hope I have gotten rid of them all.

Found nests in between the ply bed base and metal frame, inside canvas pockets (could not see inside them so stuck my hand in and it came out black), inside a fold up table to name a few places.

Will check again next weekend and hopefully get away in 2 weeks where I can go over it all again

[Tjupurula]

Hi Cancan
A friend of mine who is an entomologist (insect expert) at Murdoch University (Perth) once reminded me of one major factor that comes with most insects.  They rely on odours for communication, searching for food, almost everything.  Something as simple as vinegar will stuff their scent trails up, and prevention being better than cure, I have often used vinegar around the base (tyres and such) of storage areas, and have never had a problem with insects.
Regards
Tjupurula

[Jon]

On our easter trip we opened up our softfloor and like yours it was teaming with ants. I ended up dtripping the whole thing out and using 2 tins of spray.
The source ended up being some firewood I had thrown in the wood box las trip to SW Rocks 3 weeks before.
I will open it again this weekend if its fine and check the tent for more bugs.

Also will throw in some ant sand, about a half kilo.