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

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

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

hi,

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

1. buy a foil ...
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 ...

keep on kitin'
thorsten

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

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.

Hi anonymous,
that is the best joke I heard in a long time. Serious, I could'nt stop laughing .
Regards.
Nico

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 ...

go big!
thorsten

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

did you sign up your school for free already with http://www.kiteschools.com ?

Greetings
Toby

do ants eat airrush-kites?