I have several junction boxes on posts in the woods. For some reason ants think they make great nests. They are pretty tightly sealed for weatherproofing, but the ants find a way in somehow.
Any suggestions for preventing this?
Put a good dose of Amdro in the boxes and / or seal them better?
ant eater?
Why? Are the ants using your power for lighting?
Ants don't need much clearance for access. The question is, will they cause any harm? I can't answer that, by the way.
It might be that putting a few moth balls in each box would deter them for a long time?
Everything in the box kinda turns to mush. They must excrete something.
Wow ... I am outta here, as they say, as this is beyond my knowledge.
Make sure the pipes coming in are sealed and don't stub one out underground without sealing it. Once you are sure they are not coming ion the raceways you can use a gasket grade silicone (autoparts store) to seal around the cover. That will seal it up but will still peel right off when you need to. Usually you do still need a small weep hole in the bottom but make it small. If you do want a chemical solution, a small amount of boric acid will make it an unattractive place.
You might try terro ant gel and just routinely place a dab in the boxes for the ants to feed on. First though try it in a box that has activity to make sure they will feed on it. If they aren't attracted to the terro you may need to try to find a bait they will feed on. Insect dust should be safe to lightly dust in the junction boxes though very little would be needed.
It is possible for them to short out electrical boxes/timers when they get into them and not sure if placing moth balls would be ok...the fumes might cause chemical reaction to any wire insulation and then a short and I believe the fumes are considered to be flammable.
Lar
Thoroughly seal/caulk where the line enters the enclosure. They are using the INSIDE of the conduit as their path into the box.
Especially when the soil is saturated, ants move into above-ground spaces. They diligently bring dirt with them to create a nest in the new space. This can cause trouble, deteriorate the poly insulation on the conductors and corrode connections.
I have seen the ENTIRE space inside a telephone pedestal FILLED (completely) with dirt - an entire ant colony had moved in - big time.
These sure sound like fire ants! Been a big problem in Texas for about ten years. They will work their way into any electrical closure they can get into from ground level. I've opened closures that were a foot off the ground and were completely packed. The ants are aggressive and will bite everything when disturbed and cause puss nodules at every skin bite.
Nasty. I now carry ant killer, pop the cover, soak it if filled with ants. Come back a few hours later and dig the box out. The farm store has some good chems just for them. Don't let them get on you, just a few bites will really burn for days.
Last I heard they've made it north to about Kansas, not something to look forward to.
-larry \\ dallas
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I will give it a try; we also have a nasty ant problem in the cottage, but at least there they don't destroy anything.
Years ago I had ants in an apartment. I got rid of them by putting broken M&Ms on the floor, waiting 20 minutes, and vacuuming them up. Sounds odd, but worked.
Damn! That's worse than ants on your piano.
Jon wrote in news:Inzth.50663$oA1.30601 @newsfe19.lga:
It's all nature. Tulips on your organ is nice :-)
Dirty ol' Al...
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