Red ants ate my tent?!

Rosie

New Member
Messages
49
Points
0
I was camping in Texas this past summer and the bottom of my tent now looks like swiss cheese. Red ants ate through the bottom of the tent and bit us in the night. Is there a material they can't eat through?
 

calanta

New Member
Messages
387
Points
0
Never had that issue myself but we do need to re-spray the yard here. Seems that random ant hills are popping up all over and we had this issue last end of summer too. Never before though and we have lived here for a decade so its really weird.
 

Refrigerator

New Member
Messages
1,361
Points
0
Location
Mt Rogers Virginia
very interesting .....I have never come across anything like what you are saying here. They may have been attracted to your body heat.....salt sweat or you were parked on top of a nest and they were at war trying to preserve and protect there kingdom......My next gear I show I attend I am going to ask this question..... Thanks for sharing.
 

isabelle

New Member
Messages
13
Points
0
Are you sure it was red ants and you didn't have something spilled on it while it was in storage? I've never heard of them eating their way through that kind of material.
 

Rosie

New Member
Messages
49
Points
0
We don't eat or drink in the tent, but with kids who knows if something got snuck in.

Isabelle, yes I'm sure it was the ants. After the first night we noticed a few holes and I put some duck tape over the holes. After the second night there were more holes. We did move the tent but every morning there were more holes. By the end of the trip the tent was full of holes. I don't know what kind of ants they were, just that they were red and they were EVERYWHERE! This was East Texas.
 

MountainMan22

New Member
Messages
94
Points
0
Location
TN
I can't stand red ants. I was on a trip before and went golfing. I ended up hitting from a sand trap and after I got out and was walking, I started feeling pinches. It was ants. I swell up a lot and itch so bad when I get bit by them. I can't imagine sleeping and getting woken up by something like that.
 

oldsarge

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,764
Points
63
Ants are really amazing creatures. In Panama they were my focal point when in the filed. Some as big as an inch long, others were so tiny and packed the worst bite. And so abundant too, it's amazing they haven'y taken over everything yet.
 

bachse

New Member
Messages
19
Points
1
Location
CA
Thats impressive. I have no useful advice on the subject. I just wanted to share how exceptionally impressive I think that is.
 

paloma

New Member
Messages
127
Points
0
I've always been wary of ants, especially those dark red ones that bite like a bee sting. Anytime there are tiny bits of food around, the ants are not far behind. We always keep the food out of the tent when camping to prevent ants from coming in.
 

ponderosa

Active Member
Messages
911
Points
43
Location
eastern idaho
We had a problem with ants when we were camping on Oahu. These were teeny, tiny, itty, bitty ants that were actually crawling in through the mesh in the tent. And boy did they bite! This was our backpacking tent that we frequently use in grizzly country, so there has absolutely never been any food or drink of any kind near it. It was very irritating, but I guess I'll be thankful that at least they didn't eat holes through my tent.
 

Chele Fury

New Member
Messages
1
Points
0
I just came back from east texas where my tent floor was eaten by ants. There was never food in there except unopened containers. They ate through the floor mat every night. I moved the tent several times. I really thought this could only happen to me. That, and a raccoon would open the tent every morning and stick his paw in looking for grub. east Texas ants are terrible.
 

John12345678

New Member
Messages
1
Points
1
Red ants ate through my tent last week in Africa. There are now thousands of holes in the bottom. I never thought it would be possible but red ants are nearly unstoppable.
 

Roybrew

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,263
Points
113
Location
East Tn
Eewww!! That would suck John. Never had a problem like that before. I wonder if you could spray something on bottom of tent before using?
 
Top