Ants Out

[RShep]

During my recent trip on the Natchez Trace Parkway I had some unpleasant ant encounters. I usually spray around my tires and tongue wheel with a mild solution of vinegar, dishsoap and water. That seems to work well but I forgot the legs of my tables and by morning it was a pathway for fire ants to my galley. They were on my ground rug as well. As I stomped my feet and pulled the outdoor rug away while wiping them away from the counters I realized the campground slabs are perfect habitat for their mounds underneath the concrete. I have no desire to use toxic poisons preferring to stick with home ingredient solutions. Would like to hear of other "proven" first hand solutions from other TDers for keeping ants out.

Natchez Trace Parkway had been on my list for a long time and it exceeded expectations. Took a full week to travel from milemarker 0 to 444 with side trips to Vicksburg and ancestral homelands near Shuqualak MS. The parkway guide published 2011 by F. Lynne Bachleda is excellent although slightly dated.

 

[The Short Short Trailer]

I applaud your reluctance to spray poison in ecosystems to which you are only a visitor. (Or any location, really). Two brainstorms that come to mind come from hummingbird feeders and fruit trees. For your table legs and hitch wheel, maybe locate them in cups or tubs of water so there’s a moat. For your tires, maybe some tanglefoot around the outside of the axle at either end would do. I hope to never have this problem!

Good Luck,
-Ken

 

[Ben]

During my recent trip on the Natchez Trace Parkway I had some unpleasant ant encounters. I usually spray around my tires and tongue wheel with a mild solution of vinegar, dishsoap and water. That seems to work well but I forgot the legs of my tables and by morning it was a pathway for fire ants to my galley. They were on my ground rug as well. As I stomped my feet and pulled the outdoor rug away while wiping them away from the counters I realized the campground slabs are perfect habitat for their mounds underneath the concrete. I have no desire to use toxic poisons preferring to stick with home ingredient solutions. Would like to hear of other "proven" first hand solutions from other TDers for keeping ants out.

Natchez Trace Parkway had been on my list for a long time and it exceeded expectations. Took a full week to travel from milemarker 0 to 444 with side trips to Vicksburg and ancestral homelands near Shuqualak MS. The parkway guide published 1911 by F. Lynne Bachleda is excellent although slightly dated.

I'm sorry to hear of your encounters with fire ants. I was happy to have them out of my life when I moved up to Maryland from New Orleans in 1998. Unfortunately I think they're slowly making their way up north. My advice would be to do everything possible to seal any food. We just had black ants find their way into our kitchen into an open cereal box.

I'd love to hear more about the Natchez trace trip (ex how are the camp grounds along the route, what sorts of things are there to see and do along the way?). I've driven the Trace from Natchez to Vicksburg but didn't really take much time to see all things along the way. And welcome to the forum!

 

[Warren Mary Ellen]

Fire Ants are awful. Never found anything that worked on the real well besides the chemical stuff.

 

[Gypsy]

Diatomaceous earth (DE) works for me in the land of fire ants. A little goes a long way. Haven't needed it (yet) for camping. In the case of a mound, I put a spoonful on the mounds. I also sprinkle some around the periemeter of my garden shed, detached garage and house. DE is powdered silica and acts as a sharp razor om the legs of the ants. It also hinders other insects I want to KEEP around so I use it with caution. Have used this with success for flea infestations in my yard. Some natural areas prohibit the use of anything.

I used to get it at a pool supply company but now buy the food grade DE online or at a health food store.

 

[RShep]

I'm sorry to hear of your encounters with fire ants. I was happy to have them out of my life when I moved up to Maryland from New Orleans in 1998. Unfortunately I think they're slowly making their way up north. My advice would be to do everything possible to seal any food. We just had black ants find their way into our kitchen into an open cereal box.

I'd love to hear more about the Natchez trace trip (ex how are the camp grounds along the route, what sorts of things are there to see and do along the way?). I've driven the Trace from Natchez to Vicksburg but didn't really take much time to see all things along the way. And welcome to the forum!

The Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway by Bachleda is excellent as mentioned in earlier post. The campgrounds in Mississippi State Parks are in some lovely locations but the bathhouses left a lot to be desired and my standards are frankly not too high as long as I can find a toilet and a little shower water. I draw the line at overflowing toilets and backed up shower drains. That was the case at Le Fleur State Park in Jackson MS and Tishomingo State Park; disgusting. It is obvious their funding is not what it needs to be. I camped at Natchez State Park for 2 nights with a day between to explore Natchez and Vidalia LA. I also camped in Louisville MS at Legions State Park; small but with well maintained sites and bathhouse. FYI Mississippi State Parks system is linked to ReserveAmerica and by providing your phone number they can link to your ReserveAmerica account. MS has a no refund policy for reservations and the walk-in cutoff time for ReserveAmerica and the individual parks may vary. Tricky system to figure out using your reservation apps. I recommend calling the parks reservation line directly and I found they were most helpful locating a site most suitable for shade and size etc. I have studied the Lewis and Clark expedition extensively and wished to visit the site of Meriwether Lewis last day. The indian mound sites are well marked and documented as you travel the parkway. Walking the "Old Trace" sites was rather spiritual for me as they follow ancient animal migration routes to the salt licks in Nashville which were indian trails and then the N homeward bound trek of the "Kaintuck" boatmen who disembarked in Natchez. The parkway drive is through some of the most beautiful Oak Hickory forest I have ever seen. Turkeys, white tailed deer were abundant and had some really close deer encounters during day hikes particuliarly at Jeff Busby Park. I recommend traveling the route S to N as the milepost are numbered and it was the direction traveled by the "Kaintucks". 444 beautiful miles and at this time of year there were long streches of driving w/o seeing another vehicle. The parkway gets a fair amount of local traffic around Jackson and Tupelo MS. If you use the guide book mentioned don't miss the top 20 sites and enjoy walking in the paths of history.

 

[Ben]

Rshep, Thanks for the trip description - sounds like it was a great trip. I've got folks just north of Jackson that I need to visit with. But I'm coming from Baltimore. It's a challenge covering that much ground and seeing the things you want in detail. Ideally, I'd go down the Blue Ridge Parkway then hop over to the Natchez trace. Hopefully you had electric hookups and AC. I don't have to tell you how hot and humid Mississippi is in the summer.

 

[Tour 931]

Sounds like you had a great time except for the ants. I grew up in part in Lewiston, ID and took 5th grade state history. The Lewis and Clark Expedition was a major part of it. I’ve always wanted to do the entire route starting in the East. Over the decades I’ve done most of Washington and Idaho and about 100 miles of Western Montana. But to experience the entire journey at one time would be the greatest.

 

[RShep]

Rshep, Thanks for the trip description - sounds like it was a great trip. I've got folks just north of Jackson that I need to visit with. But I'm coming from Baltimore. It's a challenge covering that much ground and seeing the things you want in detail. Ideally, I'd go down the Blue Ridge Parkway then hop over to the Natchez trace. Hopefully you had electric hookups and AC. I don't have to tell you how hot and humid Mississippi is in the summer.

AC was a blessing and all my ovenights had shore power. My new Dometic worked miracles with ice and frozen water bottles for my other cooler and spend the daytime hours on 12VDC in the TV and nights in the galley.