Can't figure out the white stuff in my bays?

[Montana_70]

I hope someone can help with this because it has me and a few of my RV neighbors puzzled. There is this white substance that looks like finely ground styrofoam all over my front bay, in my side bay, and coming out the belly on the curb side of Miss Montana. It can also be seen along the rain gutter at the front. In places it takes on a web like appearance but on my front bay door on the inside it's all over it like it has been sprayed on.

There are black ants wherever this stuff is. Coincidence? The most frequent comment I hear is "BJ, something is eating your Montana".

Any opinions would be welcome? The front bay also smells very bad.

[jpbcny]

The Ants are nesting in your styrofoam insulation...

[drhowell]

I tend to agree. Something is digging into the insulation and you are seeing the sawdust, or in this case styrodust. Try some Bayer home pest spray in the blue bottle. I found it at Walmart and Lowes in the garden section. It kills the ants and puts up a barrier they will not cross. I have used it around my stick house foundation and around the screen doors where flys hide looking for heat. Also on the Montana for spiders and insects.

[Kathi]

fla native, something is eating your Montana.....LOL Me thinks its the ants.....Get rid of them before you go out and the only thing you will have left is the tires......Kathi

[Chuck and Carol]

Can this really be ants? We had it in our lower cupboards our first trip out and thought it was just something from the unit being brand new. Now I guess we better take a better look through the unit. Haven't seen and bugs, just the white pebble stuff.
Got me worried now.

Carol

[Montana_70]

Carol,

At first I thought like you. Keystone replaced my entire front slide in July and I thought it might be residue from that. But even if I wipe it off it comes back and it did not explain the stuff being along my gutter at the front top.

[Chuck and Carol]

If it ever stops raining, you can be sure we will check this out before we winterize the unit. We want a unit left in the spring. We've had moles eat stuff before, but not bugs.

Carol

[Bowie]

Hate to say it but we have to vote for ants too. But sure hope it is something else non-invasive. Let us know how the fix works. Good luck!

[sreigle]

BJ, you come up with the strangest problems!

If you're getting a lot of residue like that I have to wonder if those are carpenter ants. We fought them in our stick home once, sawdust all over the areas they invaded. Killing them requires an agent aimed specifically at carpenter ants. It's available at garden stores including Walmart's.

Here's a link that tells you a bit about them. By the way, they looked like regular ants to me, just a bit bigger than we usually saw. And black.

http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entom...ruct/ef603.htm

I hope this is not what you are dealing with.