Ants all in breaker box!

meanwhile · #1 05/21/12, 11:24 AM

We just discovered our Cabin Hot Tub was off. Could not get the power on. When we checked the electric pole - it has it's own pole and breaker box is on the pole - the breaker box was FULL of Ants! Just full and ants running up and down the pole to a bed down the pole hole.

We have sprayed the hole and pole and then used fly swatter to kill all the ants rushing out of the box. It will probably take a while before they all run out.

Now what? We turned on the breakers off.

We did not spray anything in the breaker box! What to do now?

Thanks!

Tim_H · #2 05/21/12, 11:47 AM

We get that problem quite often with fire ants down here, once you get the ants cleaned out put a flea collar in the breaker box and that will keep them out. -- Tim

sisterpine · #3 05/21/12, 11:49 AM

Tim, Really..that is a great bit of knowledge for all of us who deal with ants..and that is everyone! Thanks, KC

Sawmill Jim · #4 05/21/12, 11:49 AM

Me i would turn the main off remove the cover take some compressed air and blow them out just remember the wires coming from the meter are hot .Once gone if you don't want to put toxic waste around to keep them out find the stuff they spray in conduit to seal around the wires then caulk every joint there is .If enough ants get to arking it will be a big deal .

Sawmill Jim · #5 05/21/12, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim_H

We get that problem quite often with fire ants down here, once you get the ants cleaned out put a flea collar in the breaker box and that will keep them out. -- Tim

Might need to change it now and then ???? Fire ants are fun

where I want to · #6 05/21/12, 11:56 AM

If the pole stands independently, you can use something like tangle foot, which lasts, or double sided tape, to intercept them on the way up after you clear them out.
I had ants in an outlet box in a garage once that shorted out due to ants and left the freezer without power. You can imagine the mess that was as I noticed the smell before I realized the power was gone.

meanwhile · #7 05/21/12, 12:12 PM

We put spray down the hole in the ground since the ants are coming ....or were coming out of the hole. Nothing is coming out now.

I am waiting till older son gets home to open up the panel on the Hot Tub and see if there is a re set button in there.

A flea collar? That will keep ants off the break box pole?

Will ant poison at the base of the pole keep them out too? That would be easier since I already have the ant grains.

Alice In TX/MO · #8 05/21/12, 12:19 PM

Yes, you can use that. I put Amdro out monthly around our water well pump and air conditioner unit.

nancy237 · #9 05/21/12, 12:25 PM

I have never had luck with the sprays ..I think it leaves the eggs to hatch just fine..

I always use bait that they take back to the nest..You have to be patient a day or 2 but it completely wipes out the nest instead of just the ones on the surface...

mooman · #10 05/21/12, 01:45 PM

Question on the Amdro. Do dogs take a liking to it at all? I have resisted treating the mounds on my property for several years but with the mild winter I may have to this summer.

OkieDavid · #11 05/21/12, 01:59 PM

Re Amdro: remember, the "carrier" is basically corn meal soaked in vegetable oil. Most dogs WILL eat it when they can find it. Not a big deal since the "poison" is specifically designed to act on the queen ant's egg laying. If you apply it as a broadcast application, the particles will be so far apart a dog will lose interest quickly. I've not heard of any reactions from dogs eating it. I have three including a beagle who actually got into a bag and I have no idea how much he ate.

meanwhile · #12 05/21/12, 02:05 PM

Fiddle. We cannot get anything to turn back on. Not even the flood light on the pole. There were more ants coming out of the hole and so we put more spray since that killed them immediately. The hole is loose around the pole and so I will sprinkle some of the grains down in the hole. The hole looks deep enough that my dogs won't get it.

I just called the Hot Tub man to come out since he said he can fix the breaker box and the tub. The ants must have done something to the whole box.

Fiddle. I will be sure to get the grains down the hole and near the side of the tub too in order to keep them gone once we get it fixed.

Thanks everyone.

fordy · #13 05/21/12, 05:00 PM

.................Gasoline kills fire ants quicker than any other available chemical ! one quart applied to the mound does the job ! , fordy

oneokie · #14 05/21/12, 05:45 PM

You will probably have to replace all the breakers in that box. Ants can and will get inside circuit breakers. When the breaker trips or you turn it off, the exoskeletons of the dead ants get between the contacts of the breaker. You may also have to replace any switches and electrical controls that have contact points that the ants have accessed.

danarutan · #15 05/21/12, 07:27 PM

We get ant too -- the sprays make my asthma act up sooo bad. Readers Digest "Homemade" book had this ant trap recipe that worked great and i could set them in my flower bed without risk of chickens getting into them.
3 c. water
1 c. sugar
4tsp. boric acid

Mix all together pour into jars with cotton balls until saturated place lid on jar and poke small holes in the top big enough for the ants but to small for pets to get into. Place the jars where ants are seen.

In less then 2 days our ant problem was gone, no asthma attack, and no dead pets.

DakotaBrat · #16 05/21/12, 11:00 PM

I just mixed borax powder and a little icing sugar and sprinkled around the mound a couple of days mine were gone Neighbour was complaining about ants told them this and they have no ants either now.

Alice In TX/MO · #17 05/22/12, 06:13 AM

What kind of ants? What are the grains you are using?

brosil · #18 05/22/12, 07:12 AM

There's an electronics cleaner called Rid-Ox that works amazingly well on ants. That reminds me, I have to order some more.

francismilker · #19 05/22/12, 10:17 AM

A 6" strip of tin painted gloss black wrapped all the way around the pole will help to yield off ants from climbing the pole. It gets so hot in the summer they don't like to climb over it. You can also put a thick layer of auto grease underneath it to keep them from crawling under. When the tin gets hot and melts it down the pole this will help too.

Harry Chickpea · #20 05/22/12, 10:21 AM

This might be a case where DE in the conduit would be an answer.