myredracer
Sep 10, 2016Explorer II
OMG - ants in California!!
We recently overnighted in a CG in Bakersfield en route to Vegas. The internet description sounded positively lovely. It's a combination orange grove and campground and all the sites have orange trees next to them. Very cool, what more could you ask for?
Pulled into the office to check in and the lady asked if we wanted spray or Comet. Say again? She goes on to say that there is an ant infestation in the area and you need to use either ant spray or Comet around all your tires and anything else that touches the ground. 'Course, they had both for sale... So we bought their last container of Comet and proceeded over to the site. She also added, "oh and BTW, don't drink the water, it's got high nitrate levels and don't pick the oranges, they aren't ripe until December". Okay then, this isn't quite what we expected. :(
Got down on my hands and knees and shook a little trail of Comet around all the tires and the pedestal. Was able to suspend the power cord, co-ax cable and water hose in the air. Luckily there was just enough in the container. Kinda surreal. Sorta like a crime scene investigation, you could see where other RVs had come and gone on other sites from all the circles of white powder. All that Comet on the ground can't be good for the ground water either.
DW was fearing the worst and not sure what to expect overnight. I camped in a tent over in Monterey years ago with one of my sons and woke up in the morning to find ants crawling all over the tent - inside! The last thing we wanted was ants crawling on the ceiling inside our TT. Before turning out the lights and going to bed, I had one last look outside to see if the ants had shown up yet. Nary a one. Okay, so then they're gonna come out to play during the night I guess. We both had Alfred Hitchcock nightmares that night. :E
The next morning, the ants were a no-show. All that panic and fear for nuthin'. Pffft. I even looked closely at the ground all around and couldn't even find even a trace of ant poop. Maybe they all died from ingesting Comet or the nitrates in the water, maybe the CG was duping everyone or maybe it was just too hot out (it was pretty hot).
A few folks we met at CGs asked why the heck we would've stayed in Bakersfield. Now we know why, lol. Not quite the best photos:
Pulled into the office to check in and the lady asked if we wanted spray or Comet. Say again? She goes on to say that there is an ant infestation in the area and you need to use either ant spray or Comet around all your tires and anything else that touches the ground. 'Course, they had both for sale... So we bought their last container of Comet and proceeded over to the site. She also added, "oh and BTW, don't drink the water, it's got high nitrate levels and don't pick the oranges, they aren't ripe until December". Okay then, this isn't quite what we expected. :(
Got down on my hands and knees and shook a little trail of Comet around all the tires and the pedestal. Was able to suspend the power cord, co-ax cable and water hose in the air. Luckily there was just enough in the container. Kinda surreal. Sorta like a crime scene investigation, you could see where other RVs had come and gone on other sites from all the circles of white powder. All that Comet on the ground can't be good for the ground water either.
DW was fearing the worst and not sure what to expect overnight. I camped in a tent over in Monterey years ago with one of my sons and woke up in the morning to find ants crawling all over the tent - inside! The last thing we wanted was ants crawling on the ceiling inside our TT. Before turning out the lights and going to bed, I had one last look outside to see if the ants had shown up yet. Nary a one. Okay, so then they're gonna come out to play during the night I guess. We both had Alfred Hitchcock nightmares that night. :E
The next morning, the ants were a no-show. All that panic and fear for nuthin'. Pffft. I even looked closely at the ground all around and couldn't even find even a trace of ant poop. Maybe they all died from ingesting Comet or the nitrates in the water, maybe the CG was duping everyone or maybe it was just too hot out (it was pretty hot).
A few folks we met at CGs asked why the heck we would've stayed in Bakersfield. Now we know why, lol. Not quite the best photos: