Checked my sleeping bags and gear this weekend.  

Small 1/4 inch ants liked one of my sleeping bags so much they ATE it  !!!!!!!!!!  Damn socialist ants.There was thousands of them!!!!!

They left the other one alone  why???

Need ideas on keeping stuff from the ants and other critters  Thanks

Steel open top barrels with lids.

 

Sportsman's Guide - New U.S. Military Surplus 58-gallon Shipping Drum, Olive Drab - $53.99  

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/new-us-military-surplus-58-gallon-shipping-drum-olive-drab?a=1041130

Excellent drums.  Wait for a Free Shipping promo to save even more.  

That's nice!

This stuff.  Kills damn near everything.



https://www.amazon.com/LambdaStar-Micro-encapsulated-Insecticide-Lambda-Cyhalothrin-replacement/dp/B007EC692U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471912350&sr=8-1&keywords=lambdastar+ultracap+9.7

Poison is the first step.



2nd step is storing everything in sealed metal or glass containers.



If you play on craigslist you should find 55 gallon drums where the whole top comes off.  Might have some dents but oh well.  I got some that had something like spaghetti sauce in em, but the sauce was in a huge plastic bag so the drum was pretty much already clean when I got it.



Some people prefer to buy some galvanized garbage cans.  Some lids don't fit that tight, make a gasket if you need to make a gasket for the can to seal well.



I had a storage unit long ago when into cars and working on stuff and had all sorts of stuff like engines and what not.  Mice got so hungry one winter they ate soap.  Actual bars of soap.  



I store important stuff in ammo cans and metal drums and other similar sorts of containers.  Most food stuff is in glass jars of one sort or another.

Those are nice cans.

AMDRO is your friend...  I have a constant battle with ants here at the house,    Pour it out around the outside of the house,

If you want to kill ants use Diazinon, powdered and sprinkle it around their nests, when they come in they trample it down into their nests,by morning the whole nest is dead.

Perimeter treatment with Taurus SC.

No one took a guess at why the ants ate your bag.  I'm guessing that it had been used and probably had a build up of dried sweat in it.  I've had shirts that were soaked and I used to throw them over a rail on my back porch to dry.  One time I left a shirt out a couple of days.  Fire ants ate it full of little holes getting the salt.

Where at in NM are you?  I love the Cloudcroft and Ruidoso area.

.

I came here to ask that...didn't know ants would eat fabric, and wondered if it was carpet beetles instead.

Pour a line of boric acid around your stuff.
It will keep all kinds of insects away.
Stuff is pretty cheap too.

Original poster can comment on why he thinks ants liked that bag and not the other one.



I recently got a big bottle of permethrin for mixing up and spraying around the house and doing this and doing that.  Basically I figure I will be looking for things to spray to use it up.



I am not about to spray down the inside of the sleeping bag but I could certainly see spraying down the outside of it.  I currently have all sorts of odds and ends I assemble for what I am doing, so me spraying down the removable outer covering is easy and will be done.



And I am not saying you can't spray down the inside of a bag.  I wear clothes I sprayed with it so I do consider it safe.  I just don't think I need to worry about the inside of it.



But then again I also come back to big metal drums for storage.  I have some drums outside with some odds and ends in em and they have been out in the weather for a couple years now.  I will take a good look at everything and probably clean and paint the bottoms again just cause the bottom is what is always sitting in the dirt and what not.



And while 17 bucks is not nothing, sportsmans guide has those really tall ammo cans, for mortars maybe, for about 17 bucks and if you find a free shipping coupon you can get some of them.  A super duper winter bag might not fit that well but a summer bag could be crammed in there easy.  



I know not everyone wants to mess with a drum and what not.  I got some of the ammo cans just cause I needed to order some other stuff in and could not resist and storage of bulk stuff is about the best use I have found for em so far.  Mine showed up dirty and what not but a hose cleaned em up fine.  Did not even need soap and a brush.  It was just dirt on the outside and it hosed off easy.

I bought this and mixed per the label directions and I'll just say I'm unimpressed.  The amazon reviews make it look amazing, so are they mixing it double strength?

Where you buying Diazinion? I thought it was outlawed.

I stocked up when they banned it, but my supplies are gone at this point.

I don't keep up with what is banned and what not.



A search of arfcom using google looking for insect erradication ideas should turn up various links to stuff and can see what is left that is available and affordable.



As fall is sort of arriving I am planning to work on multiple layers around and under the house to hopefully take care of things as the cold weather hits and what not.



Got fleas and ticks and ants and other fun stuff in the yard and working on yard for the pups but don't want to drive stuff to the house.



I have not done it but I know over the years we have had some threads on various stuff and the different layers to use for best results.



I figure fall is a good time to work on it, doubt winter will really be cold enough to do much.

Terro liquid ant traps are really effective. They have cut our ant problem by 80%.


Inside the house we use this

https://www.walmart.com/ip/17165156?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227019300298&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=t&wl3=42529881872&wl4=pla-81187379192&wl5=9030506&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=17165156&wl13=&veh=sem

Outside the house we use this

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Terro-Outdoor-Liquid-Ant-Bait-6pk/16777903?action=product_interest&action_type=title&item_id=16777903&placement_id=irs-2-m2&strategy=PWVUB&visitor_id&category=&client_guid=24672077-4438-4b41-a06b-877d39ad5cf5&customer_id_enc&config_id=2&parent_item_id=17165156&parent_anchor_item_id=17165156&guid=f1afa42c-3fb7-49d7-b3a4-de23851704eb&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&beacon_version=1.0.1&findingMethod=p13n