Getting rid of the food will not get rid of the ants. They forage for food well outside the vehicle. If they like the nesting site, they will stay.
Since you know the nesting site, spray or pour one of those “orange” cleaners. The “orange” cleaners not only kill on contact, the ants do not like the smell. “Lemon” cleaners will also drive them away but may not kill on contact. Both of these are less toxic to humans than borax.
Borax works much better when mixed with Boric Acid, 2:1 Borax to Boric Acid. Boric Acid is what most roach powders are. You can mix with water but it is difficult to dissolve. It works as a powder too.
There was a borax mine in or near Death Valley. They scraped it up, not dug. You needed 20 mules to have enough power. At least that’s what the historic marker said.
Boron is the poison; there’s more boron in a gram of boric acid than a gram of borax, so it’s deadlier. It may be more likely that an ant will eat the acid, but I don’t know.
They both taste awful to me, but borax is worse, soapier. BTW it’s speculated that boron is a necessary mineral, is in many multivitamin/mineral supplements.
That sounds messy, and some ants don’t go for sugar. I take the cheapest peanut butter (the more hydrogenated, the better), mix 1 ounce boric acid to the pound, put it out in bottle caps. I haven’t had ants in years but I’ve seen roaches eat it; haven’t seen them in years either. The boric acid preserves the peanut butter.
Boron’s a curious element (#5) produced by cosmic ray spallation, not in stars.
Well that clears it up. Now to change the subject, I watched part of a Hopalong Cassidy show this morning. I never used to miss him but man was that show lame. Guess my tastes have changed. Still would be fun to watch Death Valley Days once again just to see if it is as bad.
When I watch TV shows from the '50s, '60s, and '70s, my reaction with almost all of them is that the acting was usually amateurish, the writing was usually not much better than the acting, and–overall–the shows are lame. The only exceptions that come to mind are the George Burns & Gracie Allen show and Twilight Zone. Other than those, my usual reaction is something along the lines of… We were actually entertained by this tripe?
It’s hard to remember what a miracle television was when it first came out. We’d watch anything. I’d get up early on Saturday, watch the Native American Chief test pattern, then public interest programming (including driver safety cartoons). Why waste talent making them good? FCC commissioner Newton Minow called it a vast wasteland - but he was an adult.
But there were good ones like Howdy Doody. I was puzzled when Wonder bread went from 8 ways to 12 ways. What did they mean? But then there were a lot of local talent. We had Casey Jones, and Axel and his Dog and Nurse Carmen and others. In Sioux Falls I got acquainted with Captain 11 who was a little loose with the liquor according to kids in the audience anyway.
Yup!
When I would get up early on weekends, I watched The Modern Farmer, which was surely relevant (not!) for kids like me who lived in urban areas. At least they also ran Victory At Sea, the old Navy documentaries, so there was something good to watch in the early AM hours. But–yeah–we would watch almost anything…
At one point, Steve Allen had a fishbowl on his TV desk, and it contained his pet minnow–Newton!
That is still true today I don’t have or want a TV but it seems to me that most people when they get up in the morning one of the first things they do is turn the TV on and also do the same thing when they get home go to any business wether it be a repair shop DRs office or any place with a waiting room there will be one or more TVs playing and most of the people waiting will be stareing at it.
Who knew? I watched him all the time and never knew the meaning of this. Funny guy (or at least used to be to me) smock, smock. Maybe not so funny now.
Good point. I think that Steve Allen’s humor would still seem pretty good to the folks… of a certain age, like me. But younger folks may or may not appreciate it
Not only humor but a lot of things would be lost on them another thing I just thought of remember before cell phones when you got mad at some one you would slam the phone down then who ever you was talking to would got the message try that with a cell phone it loses something in the translation.
Unless you were listening on a party line. Then you would gently put it down so they didn’t hear the click. These days it’s crosstalk but you never know where the other conversation is coming from.
‘the 1961 speech by then Federal Communications Commission Chair Newt Minnow, in which he told the National Broadcasters of America that, basically, their product sucked and that TV amounted to a “vast wasteland.”’
I have ant issues before. Terro is good. But if it’s real bad, you need the professional insecticide. Depending on where you live, you might have to be a licensed pest control person to use it. Some places anyone can buy it. Some places you have to provide proof that your a licensed pest control professional to even buy it. You can always use one of those foggers that are commercial, but I’m not sure if it would damage the interior of your car. Check with the laws were you live if you can use the professional insecticide without having to pay someone.
The good and bad thing about ants is they are mobile. Take advantage of their mobility and try to give them an incentive to exit your vehicle rather than kill them there or you’ll never be able to vacuum them all.