Ants in my boat seats!?

Long time lurker, first time poster. I was hoping my first post was going to be my completed boat built, but alas I have come across an interesting situation.

I finally cleaned my boat and prepped for painting, when I was washing it down I noticed some small white particles and small black particles. The small black particles appeared to be dead ants and I couldn't figure out what the white stuff was. I didn't pay it too much attention and painted my boat. '(its been sitting outside for 6 years unused).

The next morning I saw small piles of white material (boat seat insulation) underneath the seats. Thats when I started noticing the black ants.. I also could hear them chewing inside the seats themselves.

I put out ant bait, but I believe these are most likely carpentar ants. Has any one else had this happen? If so, please let me know how you got rid of them.

I believe my boat to be a 70's Alumacraft Model E.

This is a new one on me. They must be marine ants! Looks like you will be pulling that foam out. This reminds me of my car's hood insulation, which my neighborhood critters found tasty.

I had ants get into the foam insulation under the center console on my old Boston Whaler Rage. They actually marched out the dock, then the chain holding the boat to the dock to set up camp in my center console! I think I just used regular insect spray or ant killer to get rid of them. I never did anything about the foam since it was really sound/heat insulation and not flotation foam. That's a pretty big ant you have there, mine were normal small black ants.

I can't really tell you how to get rid of the ants but I wanted to comment on seats. And you certainly can get rid of them by changing the seats... but I recently bought new seats and I am in awe of how nice they are. Millennium Marine seats. They are a mesh design, they don't hold water, they don't get hot, you don't sweat in them... they are so comfortable... I can't say enough about them. This isn't the greatest picture but you'll get the idea. I wish I had bought them sooner.

First of all, the paint looks great! Thats a good color for a fishing boat.
As far as the ants, I get them in my mail box every few years. What works for me is Raid ant and roach killer. You will have to spray into the seats though, maybe pull back the fabric to do that.

If they really are carpenter ants, I would suspect that the plywood seat base is wet and rotting. I can't imagine anything about the insulation being an attractant to ants, but I'm not an entemologist.
I once had to split one of those little plastic "bass hunter" pontoons because it had rotten stiffening wood in it, and carpemter ants had moved in. Replaced both fore and aft transom woods, and installed more into the gunwales, along with new foam in the floor. Came out pretty decent for a $25 garage sale find.

Roger

Can you cover the boat and smoke them out? Maybe some coals in a coffee can with damp paper on top would do the trick.

GTS225 said:

If they really are carpenter ants, I would suspect that the plywood seat base is wet and rotting. I can't imagine anything about the insulation being an attractant to ants, but I'm not an entemologist.
I once had to split one of those little plastic "bass hunter" pontoons because it had rotten stiffening wood in it, and carpemter ants had moved in. Replaced both fore and aft transom woods, and installed more into the gunwales, along with new foam in the floor. Came out pretty decent for a $25 garage sale find.

Roger

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"Replaced both fore and aft transom woods,"

I understand those boats what you mean, but it just sounds strange.

LDUBS said:

"Replaced both fore and aft transom woods,"

I understand those boats what you mean, but it just sounds strange.

Click to expand...

Yer right.....it does sound odd, but that's the best terms I can use to describe what was essentially a piece of 2 X 4 in the bow and stern gunwales. Had thin aluminum "scuff plates" attached outside for the trolling motor mount(s), too.

Still got the "boat".....Roger

I bought my friends Rich Line Model 15 (14’) this summer which had been stored outside, uncovered. It was crawling with the large black ants. I used two of the Terro ant baits under each seat (3). It took a couple of weeks because I had to remove the baits to move the boat to my storage location. But it did the job.