by Anthony Ogg

Created on: July 25, 2009   Last Updated: July 31, 2009

The campsite is perfect and now its time to have fun. But be aware of the tiny little insects that wear their skeletons on the outside we call ants. They can bite you and wreak havoc on your picnic. With a few simple precautions you should not have many problems with the ants.

You are entering the territory for many different creatures including ants when you set up your camp. A simple strategy to help minimize seeing ants is to look for ant hills and set up your campsite as far away from them as possible. Ants are everywhere, and if you are outdoors it is impossible to avoid all of them. Setting up your tent as far away from an ant hill will help to minimize the ants but nothing will completely do away with them.

The first thing to remember about ants is that they are constantly searching for food. They have scouts constantly on the search for food, and when one finds food, they return to tell there family they have found supper. Simply keeping your campsite clean will often keep down the annoyance of most ants. Keep your food stored in airtight containers. Always clean up any leftover crumbs and scraps. Put these scraps far away from the campsite. Don't give the scouts a chance to ring the dinner bell for the rest of the colony. If they do ring it, hundreds if not thousands of ants will be marching toward your campsite in a matter of minutes.

Forget about the poisons. Poison is not going to get rid of ants and they can make you sick as well. Yes poison is sometimes used in your home to get rid of a few ants, but you are in the great outdoors. Poison at camp will do nothing but harm the environment, and possibly make you sick if you get it on yourself. Off and other bug sprays may help with mosquitoes, and other flying insects, but they have no effect on ants.

Never leave your clothes, sleeping bags, or covers on the ground. There is a possibility that a crumb of food or simply the scent is on them, and this will attract ants. It would not be fun to put on a shirt that has ants in it. You also don't want to have a case of ants in the pants. Hang up your clothes on something and keep them off of the ground. Yes ants can climb but unless your clothes are covered in sugar it is unlikely ants will climb to get into your linens.

Camping is a fun experience, and ants should not be a major issue. The above tips, should keep you worry free from ants and let your mind concentrate on fishing, hiking, and other fun camping activities. Good common sense plays a big role in the issue of ants at the campsite. So go camping and have a great time and don't worry about the ants they won't bother you if you don't dare them to.

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