demoIL

Well I checked my camera today and all I had was ants. I don't know if they were somehow triggering it or what but I had hundreds of pics with nothing except the occasional black spec..

Those dang things made a nest inside the camera. They had laid slimy white eggs all up and down the circuit board. there were probably a thousand ants inside the board and battery area..

I took apart and cleaned really well, set back out and tested it. Seems to work fine but I'm glad I caught it today and not in another week or so.. Geeez.

crenth

Had that happen with both of our cameras.

kevin1

Ants hate spearmint and peppermint, get some essential oil of either and apply a thin barrier stripe of it to the casing of the trailcam, make sure to treat around any opening. You can also water them down with vodka and dispense with a spray bottle. You'll find these oils in the baking supplies aisle of most grocery stores, they're normally sold in very small square bottle as extracts. If you have a stand of wild spearmint available you can just smear the casing with the leaves.

MathewsShooter30

yea but wouldn't that also scare the deer?

jerseyhunter

or attract bears? They may do a number trying to get at the smell.

demoIL

Well I'm in IL so if I can attract a bear to my camera I'm all for it.. lol As far as scaring deer I'm not too sure, it's a wild plant smell. Don't think it would be a big deal..

Either way good advise and thank you!

kevin1

Why would they be alarmed by the smell of something that probably grows there? I haven't been in too many eastern woods for long without finding spearmint growing, and while they don't eat spearmint it's a smell they know. You also use the oil sparingly and in a diluted form, not straight from the bottle. The ones I'm referring to are used to flavor cake frostings and candies, they usually come in small square five dram bottles, not the more familiar 1-2 oz extracts. They're very potent, when my wfe makes her cinnamon candy for the holidays she uses a single bottle to a quart of candy syrup, and the fumes are like tear gas.

Trex

I had the same problem the first time I used my camera (StealthCam). The ants were getting in through the small hole in the bottom where the rod used as an alternate mounting method goes into the camera. I just put electrical tape over the hole and never had any further problems.