Ants in "New" Used Car - Need Advice

SVTContour · 10-01-06, 10:34

Hi all,

Purchased a 2004 Honda Odyssey from a large Honda dealer in Atlanta 2 days ago. On the test drive I saw an ant crawl across the dash and saw one or two others in the back cargo area. I had heard that ants can wonder onto a car that has been sitting so I wasn't too worried.

Well coming out to the car the next two mornings (in a garage) there are maybe a dozen total on the outside of the car in different places, and a couple have shown up in the inside since I brought it home.

You are probably thinking there is food caked somewhere and they are feeding on it, but the interior was very clean. I did a full cleanup of the interior and my bucket of Woolite/water was brown, but nothing that could justify an ant infestation. Just now my wife and I sprayed Raid ant killer in all the door jams to see what that will do.

Has anyone seen anything like this and am I dealing with a larger problem? Such as there is a nest somewhere in the car with thousands of ants I haven't seen.

I'm calling an exterminating company tomorrow to get their opinion and based on what they say, I will play hardball with the dealership if necessary. They have a good rep and should make things right if it comes to that.

TIA for any advice.

paul34 · 10-01-06, 10:47

Seems like you've already taken all the steps that would come to mind in this case. I really, really hate insects in a car - its just so bizarre (to me).

If still nothing, then I guess try putting house baits in your car... but that's so strange lol. Can't say I really experience here, though, sorry. So, I suppose hardball it is! (if the exterminator comes up blank).

Setec Astronomy · 10-01-06, 10:53

Yes, I had a carpenter ant nest in a car that sat outside. It had a leak, and they were in the frame near where the carpet was damp from the leak. I would drive the car very infrequently, and as you noted would see an ant or two that I figured was just passing thru at the time I drove the car off.

I had to take the car for inspection, and went first to an inspection station that had been closed, and had to go to a different one, so was in the car for longer than normal, and I kept seeing more ants as I killed the ones that appeared. While I was waiting in line for inspection (about 2 hours) I finally started to look around the car and opened the back door, and hundreds of ants fell out of the space between the door and the threshold (you can imagine how this must have looked to other people in line, as I start stomping the ground like a lunatic!) Anyway, a bunch of ants were cascading out of a hole in the frame, carrying eggs, etc. By the time I got home it seemed that most of them were gone, I don't really remember what I did, but I remember taking out the back seat to check things out. I don't recall having to use any pesticide.

Carpenter ants like moist areas, so look for leaks or damp areas. You didn't say what these ants looked like, but I'm going to presume carpenter ants only because I have seen them nest in weird areas like this, and they are scavengers, so they aren't so picky where they live. My guess is you are going to find them between the carpet and a floorboard somewhere, and I expect you will find a lot more than you have seen so far.

Grimm · 10-02-06, 05:45

Do a search on here. I seem to remember someone saying that a particular wax they used attracted ants.

SVTContour · 10-02-06, 07:49

Setec:

Thanks for the horror story.

But seriously, the ants themselves are medium-brown colored and fairly small, which from my Google research seems to point to pavement ants.

Grimm:

I did and saw that thread. The tires (and wheels

) were covered with whatever goo they use. Maybe that stuff smells sweet. I haven't done anything product-wise yet, so I don't think that is it.

This morning, I only saw two on the whole car and they were on the windshield, so maybe we are on the way to recovery. The last two mornings there were a dozen or more between the roof, back hatch, and windshield.

Setec Astronomy · 10-02-06, 07:52

How big is fairly small? If they are about 1/8", then they are probably pavement ants, and maybe are just leftover; carpenter ant workers are usually about 1/4", and the ones around here used to be black, but in recent years I have been seeing other varieties which can be red and black or brownish.

DFTowel · 10-02-06, 08:07

Why not just call an exterminator and get a price quote, then go to the dealer who sold you the car and demand they pay. Did you inform them of the problem? It seems to me you obviously have a nest in the car and you need to get rid of it before you have an infestation in your house.

SVTContour · 10-02-06, 10:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy

How big is fairly small? If they are about 1/8", then they are probably pavement ants, and maybe are just leftover; carpenter ant workers are usually about 1/4", and the ones around here used to be black, but in recent years I have been seeing other varieties which can be red and black or brownish.

They are 1/8"

kompressornsc · 10-02-06, 11:58

I had an ant problem in my Integra back in College - girlfriend broke a bottle of apple juice in the back floorboard. I think it seeped into places I was never going to get clean w/o dismantling the entire car.

What I ended up doing was covering the car with ant traps-under all the mats, under the seats, etc. Then, I soaked the concrete in my driveway w/ bug killer where the tires touched - that kept new ones from coming in and killed any that were trying to escape. Took about a month until I had zero problems.

SVTContour · 10-02-06, 12:44

UPDATE

I talked to an exterminator and he said the RAID I put down should do the trick. I could also do boric acid powder here and there if I wanted. He said he would not loose sleep over it.

Other than the 2 I saw this morning, no more ants have been seen today.

Hopefully my next thread about this car will be to show before and after pics of me getting rid of all the swirls.