How to get stop ants getting into hammock?

**nacra533** · 07-10-2009, 22:05

Originally Posted by NCPatrick

Are all dryer sheets created equal, or do some work better than others?

I think the good old fashioned wm brand works fine. I've only used the scented ones, not even sure if they come unscented.

**BillyBob58** · 07-11-2009, 08:18

Originally Posted by MichaelLomas

Does anyone know how to prevent ants from invading a hammock - coming up the tree and along the hammock rope?

This is a major problem down here in MS. I have had no more problems since I sprayed Permethrine on the suspension. The ants ( and other bugs) would also get in my boots and pack on the ground, but Permethrine has also solved that problem. However, I expect to have to apply it fairly often, though so far I am still cruising on the 1st application to hammock suspension and pack. It has been quite a while since I sprayed the hammock. I don't know if it s still working or if the ants have just not felt like bothering.

**gargoyle** · 07-11-2009, 08:51

I just don't trust permethrine, its toxic to cats, but strangely not toxic to humans,hmmm.
I believe thats what the government said about agent orange and asbestos. Once dry, its bug killing power is still there and you are constantly touching the fabric during set-up/take-down of camp.
I'm not convinced that there isn't some sort of residual side-effect.http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN http://www.captionater.com/images/daily/2008-04-18.jpg These people swear by it.

**Kobear** · 07-11-2009, 10:30

A friend of mine who has had extensive military experience sleeping in hammocks in the jungle, recommends cutting a tennis ball in half, treating the outside with an insecticide and threading one on each end of the hammock through a whole in the middle. That way, the bugs get to the tennis ball, crawl over the outside and expire. I guess you could slit them so they were removable and easy to get on. Otherwise, I doubt I could get one on my BB with straps.

**buzzard** · 07-11-2009, 10:50

i was thinking about this recently, your half tennis ball is similar to my slotted foam disc that is sprayed... but i'm still worried about places with big ant population! there's a pine forest near me i'd like to camp, but it is overrun by wood ants. is it even advisable to camp in summer in this kind of woods?

**Albert Skye** · 07-11-2009, 15:01

Permethrin is classified by the US EPA a likely human carcinogen, based on reproducible studies in which mice fed permethrin developed liver and lung tumors.

Permethrin is extremely toxic to fish. Extreme care must be taken when using products containing permethrin near water sources. Permethrin is also highly toxic to cats.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin#Toxicity

**TiredFeet** · 07-11-2009, 15:47

I have 2 files that I picked up somewhere years back. They contain tips that I have found useful.

The first one:

Ants

Prevent - wash with solution of vinegar or baking soda or with Safe Solutions Peppermint soap with Enzymes.

Stop - Light dusting of talcum powder, dry laundry soap, cinnamon or
garlic powder, draw a line with chalk or petroleum jelly. Use Orange Guard.
Last resort: lightly dust with Safe solutions Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth.

Eliminate - Baiting, destroy Queen by having workers bring back poison. Equal portions of powdered vitamin C, baking Soda and powdered sugar - sprinkle wherever you see ants. Also may use Equal or combine 1 part active yeast, 2 parts molasses and 1 part sugar, mix thoroughly and bait.

Orange Guard: www.orangeguard.com

The second file:

BOUNCE DRYER SHEETS

********************************

And all this time you've just been putting Bounce in the dryer!
1. It will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near them.

2. It also repels mice. Spread them around foundation areas, or in
trailers or cars that are sitting and it keeps mice from entering
your vehicle.

3. It takes the odor out of books and photo albums that don't get
opened too often.

Repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when
outdoors during mosquito season. Eliminates static electricity from
your television (or computer) screen.

4. Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your
television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from
re-settling. Dissolve soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a sheet
of Bounce. Freshen the air in your home. Place an individual sheet of
Bounce in a drawer or hang in the closet. Put Bounce sheet in vacuum
cleaner.

5. Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through sheet
of Bounce before beginning to sew.

6. Prevent musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside
empty luggage before storing.

7. Freshen the air in your car. Place a sheet of Bounce under the
front seat.

8. Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan, fill
with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The antistatic
agent apparently weakens the bond between the food.

9. Eliminate odor in waste baskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at the
bottom of the wastebasket. Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a
sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.
Eliminate static electricity from Venetian blinds. Wipe the blinds
with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.

10. Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet of
Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth. Eliminate odor in
dirty laundry. Place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom
of a laundry bag or hamper. Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place
a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight.

11. Golfers put a Bounce sheet in their back pocket to keep the
bees away. Put a Bounce sheet in your sleeping bag and tent before
folding and storing them. Keeps them smelling fresh.

PS · 07-11-2009, 16:48

In my ground-dwelling days I'd take a 35mm film cannister with three cotton balls in it with about a dozen drops of oil of peppermint in it. When I would stay in shelter on the AT I'd open the cannister and pull up the top cotton ball....

All I'm sayin' is that since I started doing that, I've never had any mice problems. I'm gonna take a few Bounce sheets out next time too.

**Oh-No** · 07-11-2009, 17:23

I 2nd the use of permethrin on suspension lines. It keeps ants, earwigs, etc.
from cohabitating with me at night.

As to toxicity concerns, well, I have the following comments.

The EPA "classified permethrin as “Likely to be Carcinogenic to Humans” by the oral route. This classification was based on two reproducible benign tumor types (lung and liver) in the mouse"

This says that: if mice eat or drink large amounts of permethrin they have a
greater risk of developing benign lung and liver tumors.

Permethrin is extremely toxic to fish. Permethrin is also highly toxic to cats.

Well, I don't drink or eat permethrin, I don't dump it into streams or ponds,
and I don't spray my cats with it.
I don't mean to be a wise a-- about this subject, just trying to add another
perspective.

As any toxicologist will tell you "it's the dose alone that makes the poison"
The bottom line is that almost anything (if not everything) is toxic in the right amounts and in the right application.

So, each person must weigh the risk/benefit ratio and make their own decision as to the use of any particular product.

**gargoyle** · 07-11-2009, 18:39

Just took a look at my box of dryer sheets. Not one mention of toxicity. Your health is your concern. But something that toxic, cannot be good for you. Your constantly touching your hammock, suspension and tarp. I don't think its a normal practice to wash your hands after setting up. Residual injestion is almost impossible to avoid. You might as well put some perm on your toothbrush.