Probably the Strangest Question you'll read today about old chest freezer

[Flipadelphia0306]

So, I've got a friend that is willing to let me have their roughly year old chest freezer they no longer need anymore (and the actual question here probably tells the real reason why lol). It was kept in a garage and when we went to check it out there were ants piled up (not sure if dead or alive or hibernating or what) in the corners. We see no trails of ants leading to or from the freezer. Baffled. Did they nest up in a dang chest freezer? Anyone ever have this happen? Know how to rid the thing of them? I'd assume their inside the walls where they'd built a nice cozy nest. The Equipment forum is my best guess to where this would go since a ferm chamber is technically a form of equipment. Can be moved to proper place is needed. Thanks for any help here.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

I would leave it outside with ant traps in it and see what happens if they are in there you will find out

 

[Flipadelphia0306]

My major concern is the corpses of hundreds to thousands of ants inside the walls of the freezer. Not exactly sanitary I'd say.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

I imagine they got in through either the lid seal or through an unblocked drain plug. Either way, bleach bomb it and you'll probably be fine. Bleach destroys the chemical trails the ants leave, so it stops the whole "army ant" marching trail.

The issue is if they built a nest in the walls, and how to fix it. You could leave it out in the middle of a garage, then lay out some sticky tape (3" wide) and see if/where ants get stuck in the tape (coming from or going to the freezer)

What comes to mind is to stack it up on blocks, build a tent around it from thick trash bags or something, then toss a bug bomb in, if there are living ants still in the freezer.

For a garage freezer for beer, everything should be sealed in kegs and in the lines, so once the ants were all dead, I don't see an issue with using it as a keezer outside. I would not bring it in my house or store food though.

 

[ong]

My major concern is the corpses of hundreds to thousands of ants inside the walls of the freezer. Not exactly sanitary I'd say.

Well, the good part is that you’re not relying on or expecting the freezer to be even remotely sanitary. I would just want to avoid bringing a nest of live ants into your garage or house.

 

[ong]

Also check the drain plug as a possible means of entry!

 

[Rodent]

if a few ants give you the heebee-jeebies, be sure never to look at what's crawling around many a restaurant kitchen refrigerator (especially those on cruise ships! )

 

[IslandLizard]

Ants go where water (yeah!) or sugars can be found. They also like dark spaces to nest in. I doubt there are many extended cavities between the inner and outer shell, it's filled with rigid expanded blow in type insulation foam. So that leaves the:

1. inside of the freezer
2. compressor area (under the hump)
3. inside of the lid (there's a thin layer of fiberglass insulation in it)
4. rubber seals around the lid

Spray 1. and 2. out with soapy water, and mop up any ants crawling out over a few days.
Check the lid itself if anything crawls out of there or take it apart if you want to make 100% sure nothing is in 3. and 4.

The freezing cold will kill anything left over.
Enjoy your new freezer!

More importantly:

• If you use 6.5 gallon brew buckets for fermentation, how many will fit in there?
• Do not use glass carboys!

 

[passedpawn]

I opened a chest freezer one time and there were human body parts in there. Mostly hand and leg parts, frozen solid. Somebody left the lock undone and I was curious. Don't go snooping around in a medical school. Tru story.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

P

My major concern is the corpses of hundreds to thousands of ants inside the walls of the freezer. Not exactly sanitary I'd say.

Just pull the vent and look around with a flash light you will see if anything is in there other than that what IslandLizard said