# Ants in electronics



## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Ants have invaded my outside electronics. Obviously I cannot spray liquid in IC boards and such.

I put the borax/sugar water cotton balls in there.

Does anyone have a better idea?

Thanks


----------



## Steve_S (Feb 25, 2015)

You can put that Liquid Ant Killer drops on something in there, the ants are drawn to the sweet taste which they see as food and take it to their nests. I have tried several brands over the years and found that Wilsons Ant-Out works best which is a thicker consistency and is fairly inexpensive.


----------



## Murby (May 24, 2016)

I think it should be pointed out that if ants are able to get into your outside electronics, than so is moisture from the air.. 

Outside electronics need to be sealed up tight with NEMA 4 or NEMA 12 equipment. Its one thing if its just a junction box like a utility meter, but if its actual electronics, they need to be sealed.

Of course there are other alternatives.. if an electronics board can't be sealed, you could always coat it with an epoxy to seal out all contaminants.


----------



## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Steve_S said:


> You can put that Liquid Ant Killer drops on something in there, the ants are drawn to the sweet taste which they see as food and take it to their nests. I have tried several brands over the years and found that Wilsons Ant-Out works best which is a thicker consistency and is fairly inexpensive.


That seems to be a Canadian product. I can't find it here.


----------



## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Murby said:


> I think it should be pointed out that if ants are able to get into your outside electronics, than so is moisture from the air..
> 
> Outside electronics need to be sealed up tight with NEMA 4 or NEMA 12 equipment. Its one thing if its just a junction box like a utility meter, but if its actual electronics, they need to be sealed.
> 
> Of course there are other alternatives.. if an electronics board can't be sealed, you could always coat it with an epoxy to seal out all contaminants.


It is within a weatherproof housing.


----------



## Murby (May 24, 2016)

HDRider said:


> It is within a weatherproof housing.


Weatherproof housings are for junction boxes and outlets.. they're not designed to house electronics that are sensitive to corrosion, bugs, dust, etc.


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

HDRider said:


> That seems to be a Canadian product. I can't find it here.


Many of those products are simply Borax and corn syrup.
Without being able to see the equipment it's hard to suggest ways to keep insects out.

I have sprayed vegetable oil on hummingbird feeders to keep ants out, so if your equipment is mounted on poles something similar might work

I imagine most "contact cleaner" sprays would kill ants and not harm the equipment. You could also use compressed air to blow them out then find a way to seal any entrances with caulking or gaskets of some sort.


----------



## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Murby said:


> Weatherproof housings are for junction boxes and outlets.. they're not designed to house electronics that are sensitive to corrosion, bugs, dust, etc.


Murby,
I did not design the thing. It is a commercial generator. I wish it was ant proof, but it is not, and there is no way I can retrofit it to be.


----------



## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Bearfootfarm said:


> Many of those products are simply Borax and corn syrup.
> Without being able to see the equipment it's hard to suggest ways to keep insects out.
> 
> I have sprayed vegetable oil on hummingbird feeders to keep ants out, so if your equipment is mounted on poles something similar might work
> ...


I have blown them all out. Now I want to keep them out.


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

HDRider said:


> I have blown them all out. Now I want to keep them out.


Go out there at night and put a light inside the box.
Close it all up and then you should be able to see any gaps that need to be sealed.


----------



## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Bearfootfarm said:


> Go out there at night and put a light inside the box.
> Close it all up and then you should be able to see any gaps that need to be sealed.


No way it could be sealed, at least by me. It would have to be designed to be sealed.


----------



## Murby (May 24, 2016)

HDRider said:


> Murby,
> I did not design the thing. It is a commercial generator. I wish it was ant proof, but it is not, and there is no way I can retrofit it to be.


Are these fine circuit boards or just a rectifier and a diode or something? Be kind of a crappy design if some manufacturer but a circuit board in a place like that.. but if its just breakers or epoxy coated rectifiers or something, then the ants probably aren't going to do any damage. 
Maybe lifting it off the ground high enough so they won't be interested??


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> HDRider said: ↑
> Murby,
> I did not design the thing. It is a commercial generator.


If it's a generator you should be able to set the legs in containers of oil or water.


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Get cattle ear tags with insecticide for face flies. Put a couple inside the housing. Replace every six months. 

Are these fire ants?


----------



## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

Put a couple moth balls in the housing where they won't touch the electronics.

WWW


----------



## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

You just need proper labeling:


----------

