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Ants Marching... #138672
04/01/08 09:25 AM
04/01/08 09:25 AM
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 3,969
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brucat Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
brucat  Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 3,969
OK, the timing is bad, but this is NOT an April Fools thing (I only wish)...

What's the strangest thing(s) you've ever found in your sail box?

This past weekend, I was taking out my sails to see how they look for the season. The boat hasn't left the yard since the H16 NAs in 2006 (due to new baby), and has been parked under oak trees (except when in the front yard covered in Christmas lights).

Anyway, I got to my spare (old BRU Cat) sails, and the main was completely infested with black (Carpenter?) ants. Not wanting to use bug spray for fear that it would eat through the sail, I spent a good half hour with a shop vac getting rid of them.

I emptied the whole box, but there weren't any ants anywhere else. The new sail bag is zippered, maybe that kept them out?

Anyway, I'm assuming they didn't damage the sail, because I didn't see any holes or anything. Very creepy though...

Mike

-- Have You Seen This? --
Re: Ants Marching... [Re: brucat] #138673
04/01/08 09:34 AM
04/01/08 09:34 AM
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 5,558
Key Largo, FL & Put-in-Bay, OH...
Mary Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Mary  Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 5,558
Key Largo, FL & Put-in-Bay, OH...
You need to stop using wood sails. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Is your sailbox made of wood?

Re: Ants Marching... [Re: brucat] #138674
04/01/08 09:40 AM
04/01/08 09:40 AM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 12,310
South Carolina
Jake Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Jake  Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 12,310
South Carolina
Quote
OK, the timing is bad, but this is NOT an April Fools thing (I only wish)...

What's the strangest thing(s) you've ever found in your sail box?

This past weekend, I was taking out my sails to see how they look for the season. The boat hasn't left the yard since the H16 NAs in 2006 (due to new baby), and has been parked under oak trees (except when in the front yard covered in Christmas lights).

Anyway, I got to my spare (old BRU Cat) sails, and the main was completely infested with black (Carpenter?) ants. Not wanting to use bug spray for fear that it would eat through the sail, I spent a good half hour with a shop vac getting rid of them.

I emptied the whole box, but there weren't any ants anywhere else. The new sail bag is zippered, maybe that kept them out?

Anyway, I'm assuming they didn't damage the sail, because I didn't see any holes or anything. Very creepy though...

Mike


Those aren't necessarily carpenter ants. When I bought my used monohull and removed the rub rail, it was completely infested with those little blank ants.

My RV also had a similar issue but I quickly identified a squished jelly pack in one of the utensil draws, removed and cleaned that drawer thoroughly, and just before I put down ant killer, they completely disappeared.

Make sure there's not a left-over snack bar in the box or something.


Jake Kohl
Re: Ants Marching... [Re: Jake] #138675
04/01/08 09:54 AM
04/01/08 09:54 AM
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 5,558
Key Largo, FL & Put-in-Bay, OH...
Mary Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Mary  Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 5,558
Key Largo, FL & Put-in-Bay, OH...
A long time ago we bought an old cruising cat, and it had some mahogany trim on it that turned out to be infested with BIG black ants. They had pretty much turned the wood into pulp.

We have also had huge colonies of ants in our sails when they have been stored for a while. I don't know what the attraction is, maybe just a warm place to hang out in the winter?

Re: Ants Marching... [Re: brucat] #138676
04/01/08 10:09 AM
04/01/08 10:09 AM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 623
Gulf Coast
tami Offline
addict
tami  Offline
addict

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 623
Gulf Coast
aw man,

I thought this was gonna be a discussion about the Dave Matthews Band.

Re: Ants Marching... [Re: tami] #138677
04/01/08 10:56 AM
04/01/08 10:56 AM
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 3,969
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brucat Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
brucat  Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 3,969
Forgot to mention, the box is fiberglass, there was no wood or food in there, and it was pretty dry. There was a cardboard box (holding spare rudders), which was damp, but wasn't showing signs of having been ant lunch.

I do have wood under the box, spanning across the trailer to support the middle of the box, but that is 2-year old PT wood and I'd like to doubt that the ants would be eating that and surviving.

They were the big black ants, the bigger ones were 3/4 inch long. Some of them had a brownish color to their big section (in case we have any bug experts here).

Come on, no poisonous snake stories???

Mike

Re: Ants Marching... [Re: brucat] #138678
04/01/08 11:30 AM
04/01/08 11:30 AM
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 5,558
Key Largo, FL & Put-in-Bay, OH...
Mary Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Mary  Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 5,558
Key Largo, FL & Put-in-Bay, OH...
From your description, and from what I see on the internet, it sounds like carpenter ants. They made your boat box their home, but they actually go out to work every day on trees nearby. Does that sound possible?

Re: Ants Marching... [Re: Mary] #138679
04/01/08 11:41 AM
04/01/08 11:41 AM
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,304
Gulf Coast relocated from Cali...
TeamChums Offline
veteran
TeamChums  Offline
veteran

Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,304
Gulf Coast relocated from Cali...
Will they mow and trim the lawn too?


Lee

Keyboard sailors are always faster in all conditions.
Re: Ants Marching... [Re: TeamChums] #138680
04/01/08 11:45 AM
04/01/08 11:45 AM
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 3,969
B
brucat Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
brucat  Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 3,969
OK, so no one wants to share their critter stories...

Anyway Mary, yes the little bastards have killed some trees in our yard. I'm not a tree or bug expert, so I don't even know it until the tree falls, then I see all the ants when I cut up the tree. We live in a pretty wooded area, so we have plenty of trees to spare, but yikes...

Mike

Re: Ants Marching... [Re: brucat] #138681
04/01/08 11:49 AM
04/01/08 11:49 AM
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 119
Bernhards Bay, N.Y.
popeyez7 Offline
member
popeyez7  Offline
member

Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 119
Bernhards Bay, N.Y.
Maybe they wanna go sailin????? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


~~Don't fear the ''SPEED''~~ Fear the''ADDICTION''
~17,18 Hobies,
~Jet boat~Speedster 150
~2 Kayaks~
~~~~VIETNAM VET. 69-71~~~~
Re: Ants Marching... [Re: brucat] #138682
04/01/08 12:22 PM
04/01/08 12:22 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,307
Asuncion, Paraguay
Luiz Offline
veteran
Luiz  Offline
veteran

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,307
Asuncion, Paraguay
Quote

Come on, no poisonous snake stories???


No snakes so far, but once we found thousands of bees nested inside a H16 hull. This was really dangerous. Final solution: a cork in the drain plug.


Luiz
Re: Ants Marching... [Re: popeyez7] #138683
04/01/08 12:34 PM
04/01/08 12:34 PM
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 342
Indianapolis, IN - Midwest USA...
IndyWave Offline
enthusiast
IndyWave  Offline
enthusiast

Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 342
Indianapolis, IN - Midwest USA...
I get a lot of **** in my wooden sailbox. It's near the shore, by some trees and underbrush; and I built it with a 1/4" gap on the bottom of the sides for drainage/ventilation. They do like to get into the rolled-up sail. Often as I raise the sail, they'll come raining down on me. I just have to make sure my wife doesn't see them, or she wouldn't come near the boat.


What - Me Worry?


2006 Hobie Wave 7358
"Ish Kabibble"
Re: Ants Marching... [Re: Luiz] #138684
04/01/08 04:12 PM
04/01/08 04:12 PM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,658
Florida Suncoast, Dunedin Caus...
catman Offline
Pooh-Bah
catman  Offline
Pooh-Bah

Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,658
Florida Suncoast, Dunedin Caus...
There was a guy who showed up at a regatta at Clearwater with kittens in his H-18 hull. They wouldn't come out, so they went sailing on Saturday. Not sure what happened after that.


Have Fun
Re: Ants Marching... [Re: popeyez7] #138685
04/01/08 04:20 PM
04/01/08 04:20 PM
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,348
F
fin. Offline
Carpal Tunnel
fin.  Offline
Carpal Tunnel
F

Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,348
I think Dave Carlson is the resident entomologist.

Re: Ants Marching... [Re: fin.] #138686
04/01/08 09:09 PM
04/01/08 09:09 PM
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 57
Minneapolis
Mpls_Nacra Offline
journeyman
Mpls_Nacra  Offline
journeyman

Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 57
Minneapolis
the ants go marching one by one.....


Dave Foster
Minneapolis
Nacra F16
Re: Ants Marching... [Re: Mpls_Nacra] #138687
04/02/08 07:42 AM
04/02/08 07:42 AM
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 224
Cincinnati, Ohio
Tri_X_Troll Offline
enthusiast
Tri_X_Troll  Offline
enthusiast

Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 224
Cincinnati, Ohio
I'm trying to figure out how a kitten would get into an TheMightyHobie18 hull.......

I had a hornets' hive in my trailer tube when i bought the boat. I took the lid off and did a double take when I saw the hornets.....I ran faster than I've ever run in my life.


Ryan - H16 I prefer to go sailing because baseball, football, tennis, and golf only require 1 ball!
Re: Ants Marching... [Re: Tri_X_Troll] #138688
04/02/08 07:58 AM
04/02/08 07:58 AM
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 61
NC
calcheck Offline
journeyman
calcheck  Offline
journeyman

Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 61
NC
Cinnamon- ants don't like it - cinnamon is slightly toxic and OK for you in moderate amounts but ants really don't like it- I've used it around the house for years- just a line and they won't cross it - fun to watch in my office as they turn around to avoid it.

Re: Ants Marching... [Re: brucat] #138689
04/02/08 08:39 AM
04/02/08 08:39 AM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 1,459
Annapolis,MD
Keith Offline
veteran
Keith  Offline
veteran

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 1,459
Annapolis,MD
No bugs, but every Spring birds try to make nests in the covered engine well of my F-27. Last year I covered the well opening around the outboard lower unit to keep them out - they pecked through the plastic and made a nest anyway... At the end of the season I went to wipe off what looked like a small chunk of tree stuff and saw instead that an owl had horked up an owl pellet on my deck - nice little tight package of bones, feathers and fur from its previous lunch and dinner of varmints. Various species of Vultures pick apart life vests and foot straps and poop on lots of stuff at our club field. They seemed to have moved on a bit in the last years, but they still make their mark.

Re: Ants Marching... [Re: Keith] #138690
04/02/08 10:26 AM
04/02/08 10:26 AM
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 887
Crofton, MD
Chris9 Offline
old hand
Chris9  Offline
old hand

Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 887
Crofton, MD
12 ga! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />


Chris Allen
Nacra 20 Gertie
www.wrcra.org
Re: Ants Marching... [Re: brucat] #138691
04/02/08 02:29 PM
04/02/08 02:29 PM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 215
Ohio
T
TeamTeets Offline
enthusiast
TeamTeets  Offline
enthusiast
T

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 215
Ohio
Carpenter ants are mostly looking for moisture... so the wet cardboard was probably what they were after. They are a great study in random behavior on a massive scale in finding food/water. The scouts travel around laying a scent trail in random patterns around the main nest. When they find food or water, they immediately return to the nest. Eventually enough of them have returned from a consistent source of food or water to the nest to leave a strong trail for others to follow. That probably happened to your sail box and you have the ones that were just there temporarily drinking... kind of like sailors randomly sailing a windward-leeward course and ending up at the bar at night.

To eliminate them, you really must find the main nest. Probably in a nearby LIVE tree... they depend on the tree drawing moisture out of the ground and up the trunk for the nest to survive. If not a tree, find any constant supply of moisture... leaking pipes, downspouts into foundations, etc.


Mike, Ohio
Former H16, H18, N20, N17, M4.3
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