Infested With Ants

monbri · Oct 1, 2015

First, thank you to all the people who post on the forums. I have been lurking for the past few months and learning all about the Model S and what model/options to design. I went with the Model S P85D Black/Black, Autopilot, Pano, Next Gen Seats, and Tech Package. Picked up the car last Friday and Tesla just left as they took the car back to the SC.

The first day I had the car I noticed a few very small ants walking along the hood and roof. Did not think anything of it and swiped them away. Each day the amount of ants increased. By Tuesday (Just 4 days old) there were 10's of thousands of ants all over the car. As soon as I got near the car or started the car they would scatter. Today (Thursday) it was out of control. The service techs think there is a nest in the battery pack and that is why we can't find the source.

Not even 200 miles on the car and back to Tesla it goes.

lucy · Oct 1, 2015

Monbri! Bummer!
Shipping the car across country like that, who knows where that could have happened!?!?

I've heard stories of the cars in transit sitting in train yards for days or weeks, ants are the least scary thing that could be in the car from a train yard - coulda been a hobo! I'm so glad that the service center is taking care of it for you. What a disappointment to have your car and have it snatched from your grasp so quickly. condolences

jeffro01 · Oct 1, 2015

Man can I relate, on a larger scale... The drought here has been forcing ants to be ever more aggressive in finding sources of water and food. This year we are getting a major ant infestation in our house at least twice a month and believe me when I say we are doing all we can to discourage them... Can't tell you how much Oretho Home Defense we've went through...

Jeff

jerry33 · Oct 1, 2015

I really doubt if it is in the battery pack because the battery pack is water tight. I'd check the chargers or the AC/DC converter. They are more likely to be in those places.

And there are ant threads.

iadbound · Oct 1, 2015

I had ants my old Lexus after the service center left my car near a planting bed for three+ weeks. Let me make a much simpler suggestion as to where the ants might be, under the rear seats. No guarantee of course, but it's the kind of place ants like. In the end, some ant traps took care of the problem in my old car in a couple of days.

GlmnAlyAirCar · Oct 1, 2015

On vacation this summer I was plugged into 110v on the outside of the condo where we were staying. One day I come out to find a stream of ants heading up the umc cord into the charge port. Sprayed and vacuumed but still had ants all over the place. On our way home we got tired of swatting them and stopped for some raid ant traps. By the next day they were gone and haven't seen one since.

Zarwin · Oct 1, 2015

I had an ant trail going to the car via the charging cable. Do you see ants on the cable? I ended up just putting ant poison of some sort near the point the cable touched the floor and no more ants.

Dborn · Oct 1, 2015

Borax or boracic acid works well if a bit slowly. Take the powder and mix it with some water and honey and sugar. Not too thick a mixture. Use this as your bait placed in suitable containers in the ants route. They lap it up, take it home, and over a few days it wipes out the entire colony. Can also be used for cockroaches.
The acid can be found on the net. Unlikely your hardware store will stock it.

DonD · Oct 2, 2015

I did see an ant trail on my charging cable once (luckily, not at my home). As a Florida resident I am most concerned about the "crazy ants" that are becoming more prevalent in the Gulf Coast region. My next door neighbor has already suffered from a damaged electrical system in his car (not a Tesla) from these invasive creatures. If you see ants active in/around your vehicle do not ignore them, the damage the may cause could be extensive!

kort677 · Oct 2, 2015

has the OP considered an exterminator?

notAmeenPerson · Oct 2, 2015

jeffro01 said:
Man can I relate, on a larger scale... The drought here has been forcing ants to be ever more aggressive in finding sources of water and food. This year we are getting a major ant infestation in our house at least twice a month and believe me when I say we are doing all we can to discourage them... Can't tell you how much Oretho Home Defense we've went through...

Jeff

Try using Terro ant killer. It works for me incredibly well.

DoubleDownOn9 · Oct 2, 2015

This is a "thing" I guess. We were buying grapes for wine making and my wife noticed a huge trail of ants on the passenger side floorboard. Weird. I've never had any ant issues in any other car I've owned (even other EVs).

monbri · Oct 2, 2015

So far no updated from the SC. Below is a short video of the ant issues on day 4 of owing the car. As soon as you get close to the ants or start the car they go into hiding.

https://youtu.be/fS7lm2thmBk

bancroftc · Oct 2, 2015

Not sure if there is any correlation, but in our back yard we have low voltage electric lights at the base of the trees. These are basically flood lights buried in the ground pointing up at the trees. I have noticed that ants LOVE to make their nests in and around these lights. It's possible it's due to the heat from the lights, but my suspicion has always been that something about the electric fields attract them. Possible the same type of thing would attract them to a Tesla?

jerry33 · Oct 2, 2015

I had an ant infestation in the control box of the sprinkler system. Some types of ants are attracted to electric fields.

twocoasts · Oct 2, 2015

+1 on the borax or boric acid based products, but the form that works best for me is "Maggie's Farm No Spill Ant Kill," available on Amazon. Particularly helpful if you're going to use it in a moving vehicle, because Terro and homemade borax baits can slosh around and make a sticky mess.

monbri · Oct 3, 2015

Finally got an update. SC called late this afternoon (Saturday) and said they basically had to take the drivers side of the car apart and found the largest ant nest they have seen in a car. It was underneath the drivers seat (frame area). So here is the issue. I was told they removed the nest and fumigated the car. They said they will need to car until Tuesday to get it cleaned. I have only owned the car for 5 days and the SC has now had the car for 3 days, Tuesday will make it 6 days, 1 day longer than I have owned the car. I am researching the effects of fumigating a car (health effects) but I am not sure I want this car back. Any feedback from the group?

GlmnAlyAirCar · Oct 3, 2015

In my experience the SC I use (Devon PA) bends over backwards to fix any reported issue. They're as good at taking apart and putting back together as the factory. I can't comment on the health effects but I can't imagine they wouldn't comply with all regulations and best practices. If you insist on a new vehicle, you are starting over with a new set of unknowns. At least now you know what the issue is. I would let them do the work and, as long as you are satisfied, drive on.

EchoDelta · Oct 4, 2015

twocoasts said:
+1 on the borax or boric acid based products, but the form that works best for me is "Maggie's Farm No Spill Ant Kill," available on Amazon. Particularly helpful if you're going to use it in a moving vehicle, because Terro and homemade borax baits can slosh around and make a sticky mess.

For those worried about chemical leftovers eg if you have kids, diatomaceous earth is a slower but effective tool that is neutral to materials and electronics.

EchoDelta · Oct 4, 2015

jerry33 said:
I had an ant infestation in the control box of the sprinkler system. Some types of ants are attracted to electric fields.

When I worked in tropics we would find Dell computers tended to attract ant nesting while MacBooks with metal bodies didn't - but they always loved following cables. I always attributed it (unscientifically) to a combination of temperatures, and plastic material offgassing first, and electric fields second.

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