Ants!!!!

[Admiral_Young]

I may have posted a thread about this last year but I can't remember. I can't stand ants in the house. We had a major problem with them last year where I am and the landlord refused to get an exterminator because he wouldn't take his dog to his parents or his girlfriends place for a day. Everyone was practically begging him to so but he refused. They're already starting their invasion...he destroyed a couple nests already and bombed three perimeter locations.There are flying ants outside my bedroom window that sometimes find their way in and I just smash them. Anyone else have dreaded ant stories?

 

[Miss Chicken]

I had ant trouble for the first two years I was in this place. However last year I started a compost bin and this year the ants took it completely over as their nest. We have continued to put compostable things into it and as a result the ants have stayed out of the house. I am wondering if this will continue to work.

 

[Roger Wilco]

Have you tried buying a couple of those poison bait things? Supposedly they can destroy entire nests, at least that's what they claim.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Pesky buggers, aren't they?

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

We should all strive to live together in peace and harmony.

 

[Admiral_Young]

We tried the poison bait things but they got taken out of the house because of the dog. Basically we took to using baby power and vinegar and lined it along the edge of our bedroom doors. My room is the cleanest in the house but my roommates is not, he is gonna get invaded first if he doesn't start listening and clean up his shit. His room is where the main invasion points happened last year due to a previous tenant who left orange peels in a small garbage pail and they went all after it.

 

[Sean Aaron]

I used silicone caulk along the skirting board on a wall facing the garden where an extension had been built. I found that they only wanted in during dry spells when they're questing for water and if they find any trace of a food source. Caulk did the job. Iodized salt is also a good as iodine is a chemical that repels them, so a trail of that makes an effective barrier, though obviously you need to renew that.

I would avoid poisons myself as they can be indiscriminate and ants can perform a useful pest control function eating aphids and the like. Fire ants might not be quite as welcome, however.

 

[RoJoHen]

I am kind of expecting my house to have bug problems this summer, but so far I seem to be doing okay.

 

[Jadzia]

I would avoid poisons myself as they can be indiscriminate and ants can perform a useful pest control function eating aphids and the like.

I don't know if ants eat the aphids.

Ants do look after aphids in the same way that dairy farmers look after cattle. They carry the aphids to the plant stems at dawn to feed, and carry them back into the ant nest at dusk for safety. The ants enjoy licking the succulent sugary juice the aphids secrete when their backs are stroked by the ant's antennae, so will nurture and protect the aphids.

 

[trekkiedane]

ETA: ^Ants don't ladybugs do

Ant-stories, eh?

Once upon a time I got home from school to find ants swarming inn my room, lots of ants swarming in my room -apparently they lived in the insulation around the window and normally didn't come in, but the ones with wings had found the wrong way out of their nest!

Never had any problems with ants since -but people I know have and used cinnamon to keep them out

 

[Sean Aaron]

They're known to eat them as well on occasion; I think it all depends on the variety of ant. You're right though, not a good control agent for aphids, I was grasping there!

I like ants, but I agree, not good house guests.

 

[Jadzia]

Ants also sense their earth's magnetic field and use it to navigate. They dislike other magnetic fields because it disrupts their ability to navigate.

 

[Kelso]

The dog doesn't need to be out to treat for ants.

If you don't want to hire an exterminator, then buy terro and ortho from the store. You can get rid of them with those two products.

 

[RoJoHen]

Ants also sense their earth's magnetic field and use it to navigate. They dislike other magnetic fields because it disrupts their ability to navigate.

So I should cover the outside of my house with magnets?

 

[Warped9]

Pesky buggers, aren't they?

If this is your problem then I suggest moving.

 

[Jadzia]

Ants also sense their earth's magnetic field and use it to navigate. They dislike other magnetic fields because it disrupts their ability to navigate.

So I should cover the outside of my house with magnets?

I wouldn't recommend it. The magnetic pull could be enough to bring down low flying aircraft. Your house would become more notorious than the bermuda triangle.

 

[propita]

We used “Terro,” from the hardware store. Comes in an orange and white package. We used the solid form, so they’d just take it back to the nest.

We also paid about $25 to have someone come spray around the outside of the house and on the nests. They’re under control, but we have occasional sprayings to ensure that they remain outside and their nests don’t overwhelm the property.

 

[RoJoHen]

Ants also sense their earth's magnetic field and use it to navigate. They dislike other magnetic fields because it disrupts their ability to navigate.

So I should cover the outside of my house with magnets?

I wouldn't recommend it. The magnetic pull could be enough to bring down low flying aircraft. Your house would become more notorious than the bermuda triangle.

What if they're just little refrigerator magnets?

 

[Jadzia]

What if they're just little refrigerator magnets?

I don't know. If the field is too weak, it'll be ineffective at distorting the earth's magnetic field. An ant may be able to cope with small magnetic disturbances, because like other creatures, they can also navigate by vision, and can rely on their pheromone trails too.

Imagine you are an ant. Pheromone trails appear to you like roads. Your magnetic sensor is like owning a compass. You have no map and there are no road signs. There is nobody you can ask for directions. You only have the info you have in your memory. You can mark your own pheromone trails however.

Now if your compass screws up when you go near the walls of RoJo-city (a city that is 5 miles across), do you think you could still manage to find your way through it, or would you not feel confident entering the place?

 

[RoJoHen]

What if they're just little refrigerator magnets?

I don't know. If the field is too weak, it'll be ineffective at distorting the earth's magnetic field. An ant may be able to cope with small magnetic disturbances, because like other creatures, they can also navigate by vision, and can rely on their pheromone trails too.

Imagine you are an ant. Pheromone trails appear to you like roads. Your magnetic sensor is like owning a compass. You have no map and there are no road signs. There is nobody you can ask for directions. You only have the info you have in your memory. You can mark your own pheromone trails however.

Now if your compass screws up when you go near the walls of RoJo-city (a city that is 5 miles across), do you think you could still manage to find your way through it, or would you not feel confident entering the place?

Confident? No. But I'd probably do it anyway.