How can I get rid of ants inside my laptop?

Whether or not all the potential air spaces could be purged
and carbon dioxide fully introduced into the case's spaces
long enough to completely resolve this issue, is a question.

Carbon dioxide, as in fire extinguishers, is said to be not
ideal for that purpose since it can't completely remove
all the oxygen (and in that instance, the combustible item
may smolder) and later fully re-ignite as the CO2 moves on.
So, it can't be counted on to fully remove oxygen; but in a
container, it could probably saturate the enclosure better.

A small vacuum pump, such as those vacuum food sealers,
could possibly work; if the item were put into a large enough
plastic bag, and a sufficient vacuum put on the package to
remove most the air. Since the case of the computer would
not collapse, some could still remain. Insects are resilient to
many things and adapt; survivors could hatch and maybe
even be viable after several days in a partial vacuum.
...If the vacuum were removed, with that space where air had
been allowed to fill with CO2, and then left for several days...

In any event, there are some pages on DIY take-aparts of
iBook G4s. At a point, someone would have to open it up.

Or maybe, just sell the iBook on craigslist or ebay as a novelty.
If the latter it to take place, stop all processes of elimination!

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

The problem with you opening up the iBook is that it would likely void your warranty. I find it surprising that Apple couldn't deal with this--I don't know how far they opened it up before discovering the ants. If it was very far apart, it's hard to picture them putting back all of the screws with ants running around. There are a lot of screws.

There are a couple of non-toxic ways to kill the ants if that would do any good. One way would be to put the iBook in an airtight enclosure of some kind and purge the air out, replacing it with pure nitrogen and leave the iBook in the nitrogen for a few days. The ants would die from lack of oxygen. But unless you have access to the airtight enclosure and some pure nitrogen, this is not likely to be a practical solution.

It's best to avoid insecticides because you don't want any toxic residue and you don't want to risk any adverse effects on the iBook itself.

It's possible that either heat or cold could be used to kill the ants, BUT you need to talk to Apple first to find out what temperatures--hot or cold--are safe. And an exact procedure to follow.

It's probably best to call Apple and get a recommendation from them as to what to do. Be persistent. Take note of the time and person you talk to. You might even need to speak to a product specialist or to Apple Customer Relations. If they want you to kill the ants, then they need to authorize the method. That way, if there is any collateral damage to the iBook, then they will bear a certain amount of responsibility if they authorized the method.

In reality, it seems like Apple would be better set up to deal with the ants than you are. It may yet be that after thinking it over and knowing about the ants in advance, Apple will reconsider. Finding live ants no doubt was a surprise to the tech who took it apart, and he was likely justified in refusing to work on it with live ants running around. But with advance notice and dead ants, it may be different.

Again, you will likely void your warranty if you open it up, and you need to stress this to Apple and just appeal to them to help you find a solution to the problem.

Good luck!

Did you submit a bug report?

I'm sorry, that wasn't helpful. 🙂

If someone gets ants inside of a computer and can't get them out alive
and a repair shop is insufficiently capable of handling these, you can
ask if they will fix the computer IF they find dead ants inside it.

If that is not a problem, and only live ants are, then you can easily
snuff out those ants by putting the portable computer inside of an
air-tight plastic container (those storage ones could do OK) and
put it on something inert - or perhaps an ant attractant bait - outside
of the computer, yet inside of the plastic storage container. Choose
a transparent container, too; btw. There are synthetic derivatives of
natural insecticides available; see 'synthetic pyrethrin insecticides'...
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-some-natural-insecticides.htm

After doing a bit of reading to see which product brand is best for ants,
follow instructions carefully & spray some of this product (comes in
spray cans) on a piece of paper towel, folded up, so it is near but not
touching the portable computer which is inside the plastic storage box.
Then close the lid. This may take some time. (CO2 cartridges could
be used to purge air, but eggs may survive and hatch later.)

A gardener could set his or her computer inside a similar box, and get
that container of powered diazinon granules used for some flower pests
or a variety of insect lawn and garden invaders, and put this powdered
toxic product around the computer, inside the enclosed box. You could
also put some ant attractant inside the box, also; set so ants have to
track through the diazinon and then go back into the computer. This will
kill any insects inside the container, the computer, et all. But, a service
tech would probably not want to work on a computer whose pet ants
had packed this kind of insecticide into the computer. (I wouldn't do this.)

So, the idea with spray, on a paper towel next to the computer, inside
a clear plastic storage box, as earlier described, could be an OK idea.
An entomologist or botanist may find a simpler means to rid a computer
of insects, so long as the machine can be isolated from the environment
where the insects have been getting food and their original habitat zone.
To deprive insects breathable air long enough could also get rid if them;
but if eggs are inside, some bugs emerge very able to continue their line.

(My dad is a naturalist botanist and so I have ideas, including safer ones.)

I thought someone should at least add some direction to the question;
other than hoping bugs will die. {They will, eventually!} Even tower Macs
and other brands of computers, other kinds of electronics and also power
cables buried underground, can and have attracted insects, who nest there.

So, maybe those PC owners, who have the clear window on their towers,
and neon lights inside, have a good view of 'a bugs life' of their own?

Some upper-end outdoor gear shops sell 'bug net suits'... Do they also have ties?

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

PS: electronics lose their allure to insects when the power is removed;
and while they're invested in living inside a computer, it may be too late
to see if removing the battery and AC power helps make them move out.

edited.

Jacqui,
Wow this is a really weird problem and I can't help but add my $.02. I'd be tempted to put your laptop into a deep container, say a regular size cooler.
Then I'd introduce some gas that is heavier than air. CO2 comes to mind. This could come from a fire extinguisher, dry ice or mixing baking soda with vinegar. Just make sure that only the gas flows over and into the cooler and no water, liquid or the like gets on your laptop. If you're careful CO2 can be poured from container to container. I'd then close the container and leave it overnight. Ants are pretty tough. A flame of any kind would verify the level of the CO2.

I know that CO2 was used in movie special effects like in the Andromeda Strain when you want to knock out small rodents ( When the Strain kills the white mice.)

Other more heavy gases could be used, saw Myth Busters float an aluminum foil boat on "invisible water" in an aquarium. That's here and the gas was Sulfur Hexafluoride:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjCmwuGKR6g
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_hexafluoride

Uhh well my mind is running wild but something like that would avoid using toxins on your iBook. Then the iBook should be opened and cleaned out.
Richard

Message was edited by: spudnuty

null

I read that you are supposed to put some cinnamon out by the laptop, they will attract to it.

Hi Jacqui,

Just wondering if the refrigerator finally solved your issue and killed the ants without any further issues - I have the same thing.

Thanks,

D

Another idea, possibly best as a last effort to show the ants
who is boss, would be to hoist the laptop up a flagpole in
an electrical storm.

We had a large tree in the yard, on a high hill out here in
the Kenai Mountains some years ago, full of large ants.
Freezing (sub-zero for weeks) does not kill them all; but
a combination of severe wind, an extreme change from
-25°F to +40°F and a tropical thunder storm, toppled the
tree and instantly killed all the inhabitant ant populations.

So, if nothing suggested works or appears to do so, there
always is something else. Some of the less invasive and
non-lingering low-hazard human-safe anti-ant compounds
should work; keeping in mind the life cycle of ants and at
what stage unattended eggs can emerge as independent
& healthy adults. Even after exposures to extreme elements.
And they will forage; so any eggs inside the computer can
bring forth a few stragglers from each culling of their clan.

Good luck & happy hunting! 🙂