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Posted: Mon May 13, 2002 7:46 pm
by kitehead
hi,

down here in safaga-egypt we have a problem with ants taking bladders for dinner. looks like they prefer fresh used bladders, maybe because of the salt. doesn't matter what we do with the kites, every morning we have to see, that the ants eated many holes in the bladders during the nigth. anybody made the same expierence? what to do? thanx in advance for any help.

salam aleikum
thorsten

Posted: Mon May 13, 2002 11:18 pm
by TheRob
i wonder if there is some kind of a bug repelent that wont hurt the kites. that is pretty weird. you might want to also put your kites in a sealed container, but make sure they are dry first.
later,
rob

Posted: Tue May 14, 2002 11:25 am
by Nico
Hi kitehead,
had the same problem with a wipika classic in 98. Kite was brand new, and after first session in my life hung the kite in its bag for the night.
Next day, had over 60 holes bitten by ants in my wing and spent about a week finding them all and repairing. No spare bladders available at that time.
I think the salt was the main problem, and everyone going to the tropics should be aware of this risk.
Regards
Nico

Posted: Thu May 16, 2002 9:04 pm
by kitehead
hi,

I got some advices from other lists, so maybe kitesurfers here are also interested in:

1. buy a foil ... :smile:
2. close the valve !!!

I think both will work. Some people here don't have problems with ants and when asking them they said, they always closed the valves ... :wink:

keep on kitin'
thorsten

Posted: Thu May 16, 2002 9:15 pm
by murdoc
hey, kitehead!
please keep us posted about the ant-problem!
i'm planning a vacation to egypt and now i'm worried about my precious kites :wink:

Posted: Fri May 17, 2002 5:46 am
by Guest
I have understood that Naish kites are made with such a technique that ants are not interested in them. Specially the new X2 is not liked by the ants because of the many segments.

Posted: Fri May 17, 2002 2:40 pm
by Nico
Hi anonymous,
that is the best joke I heard in a long time. Serious, I could'nt stop laughing .
Regards.
Nico

Posted: Fri May 17, 2002 9:43 pm
by kitehead
a girl repairing kites and sails for years in safaga told me yesterday, that ants eat ONLY NAISH AND WIPIKA kites. she had lots of customers with naish and wipika bladder problems, but never a cabrinha, rrd, liquid force etc... she herself is going with cabrinha kites ...

for murdoc: don't worry, we have a big problem here, because we have to store more than 30 kites of our surfschool. if you come with your arcs and only one or two naishs, simply put the naishs in the fridge every evening. we obviously cannot do this with all our kites ... :smile:

go big!
thorsten

p.s. safaga is mental. we do have even more wind than tarifa! come down here, you will not be disappointed :wink:

Posted: Fri May 17, 2002 9:55 pm
by Toby
did you sign up your school for free already with http://www.kiteschools.com ?

Greetings
Toby

Posted: Sun May 19, 2002 11:43 pm
by murdoc
do ants eat airrush-kites?