Chinook RV

Just curious what others do for bug and pest control inside the RV. I found a big spider web inside today and am wondering if i need to set off a bug bomb or something. I can deal with flying bugs but not spiders and ants.

Strange you should mention this just got back from California and the beach,actually my first time not boondocking, at one of those nifty State Park campsites with hookups.Though it was only 24 hours I noticed a line of tiny ants (or should I say unending)crawling up the sewer hose to the bottom of the coach when i left ,but the next day I noticed the line crawling along the back door threshold,that evening the line was in the bathroom at the depression halfway up,later the carpet towards the galley and up the cabinet,I tried vacuuming and killing with my fingers etc.I went online and they suggested ant traps or making your own with boric acid.but in the future I will certainly carry boric acid as a precautionary.As for spiders my only experience was under the toilet,I found it easier to remove the toilet initially to clean it when I purchased my rv and there are a plethora of nooks under there where several spiders were hanging out...and in the Southwest we have both black widows and brown recluse spiders....whether boric acid works on them as it does on ants and roaches I can't say....Rooney

I make an effort to seal any places they can get in. These were MANY on my previous camper van, not so much on the Chinook (thank you, Trail Wagons). If it's something I can permanently fill, I use thickened epoxy. If it's some sort of gap that won't work for, I use either bronze wool or copper "mouse mesh." These are both something like steel wool, but won't rust or spontaneously combust (oxidize).

I still get the occasional bug in - probably mostly through the door along with me. If I can I simply help it back into the great outdoors. If I have to, I'll kill it.

I did have a "sugar ant" infestation once on a previous camper back east. These are the ants that when you crush them, they sort of smell like rancid coconut. Oh man, that was gross. Lines and lines of them. That camper had so many gaps..... :shudder:

I wouldn't do a bomb unless it was something extremely terrible. Just because I figure anything in the "fog" form factor that will kill them, might not be so good for me either. Don't want to solution to be worse than the problem.

Oh, and I use a bundle of "mouse mesh" around the "mouse hole" at the top of the shore power/solar cord. But I'm going to change both of those to a plug in cord, so there will be no more mouse hole... Plus it's convenient to be able to unplug at the camper end at times (later models may already have it this way).

My house exterminator recommend 'Wisdom TC Flowable' available at Tractor Supply for about $30.00. It's the best insect control product I've ever used. Follow the mixture amounts to the letter and it's safe enough to use in the kitchen area too. I spray around the perimeter of the Chinook including wheel wells etc. It can be used on shrubbery to control outside spiders and mosquitoes. Good stuff.