I've got Ants in my pants

[golentan]

Quite literally. So, we wake up today to find an invasion of our home by the wee black folks.

My family immediately blames me, even though since I work from home I'm the one who spends all day running around killing the bugs (and who keeps the house clean as well. The other day one of them looks at me and says "This place is a pigsty." Yes, because you got home, you dumped your work in the front room, souvenirs from a trip in the family room, scattered paperwork I don't want to touch for fear of throwing you off all over the dining room and kitchen, threw all assorted bags I don't even know where, and had dinner and didn't help me clear up while I wait for the first load to finish to put a second load in the washer. When you go away for a week you always comment on how nice it is when you get back. But I digress). So I run around going on a killing spree, RAID-ing their trails, and washing the counter for the oompteenth time. Then I decide to grab a granola bar, and find they've managed to find the cabinet without leaving a visible external trail. So then I have to clear all of the opened cereal out of the cabinet, throw it all away, and don't even get to have my granola bar because I want to wait until the clear out before opening the uncracked materials.

So I go upstairs and get changed. And find they're in my dresser, evidently munching on my biodegradable "friendship aid" and trucking through my pants to get there.

Now, I would like to say I don't actually dislike ants. In most ways I prefer them to humans: They don't lie. They don't cheat. They do what's best for their hive and get on with their life. They're predictable, and mostly constructive. People on the other hand are unpredictable, lying, spiteful and selfish animals who shout at me for giving as much to charity as I do for no discernible reason.

But I'm feeling violated. It's not that I mind them in the house (though I'm worried as they seem to be in the pipes, and the cabinet access may be through the wall, so there may be structural stuff). It's that I feel like they're taking everything that's mine and they made a power play for it all in a single day. Yesterday they were only outside, and I sat and did some notes on them. Today they're in my clothes and my food, and my sink, and I'm the one getting blamed. I'm afraid they're in my bed, and I don't like getting bitten, but I haven't checked yet. They're underfoot (every time I step through their main areas I feel some squash against my soul, and my sole) and I took a nap and I swear I feel some in my throat after waking up.

So yeah. Just needed to vent. Anyone have any fun ant stories? Vipermorph, I know you've got an ant farm, I figure I could use the happy version of what's happening.

And if anyone has advice short of calling an exterminator (which is my last resort) I'd also appreciate that.

[Alteran]

...I took a nap and I swear I feel some in my throat after waking up.


I'm sorry that I can't be very helpful overall, I haven't been in a situation like this myself. What I can tell you is that the chances of ants going down your throat are almost zero, as far as I know. Any living creature will be scared away by the movement, the heat, and the clear alive-ness of your mouth. Evolution has made most creatures smart enough to not climb into mouths.

It seems likely to me that you were worried about the possibility, and so you thought that you felt it. I'm telling you this so that you will hopefully not worry about that anymore. If you don't, I believe that those kinds of psychological effects are less likely to be a problem. I suppose it's possible that you could still feel that it's happening if you're thinking about it, but at least you can tell yourself that it isn't really happening.

[Kneenibble]

When I stayed a summer in Chennai, the ants were something magical. My brother showed me how you could, on the clean floor of the hallway outside his apartment, place a little morsel of food, and within minutes, out of nowhere, a long line of tiny black ants would appear, carry every last atom off, and disappear.

After he went back home, I rented a room in a different apartment -- on the third floor. I remember leaving a package of almonds open on a shelf I had just for food near the ceiling. When I woke up one morning, ecce! a furtive crawling inkstroke leading from almonds, down the wall, and out the crack under the balcony door.

Not only that, but the ants had the most peculiar habit of collectively breaking down one almond at a time through a small hole in it skin, leaving but a few papery brown almond-shaped husks deprived of their sweet white bodies amidst the remaining untouched. They were thorough, efficient, and strangely considerate in their surreption.

That being said,
I'm sorry your family is being a jerk about it, golentan. My advice is unfortunately limited to doubtlessly tautological common sense. Do you live in a warm area or what? Is it a space in a larger building or a whole unit? If the latter I'd recommend scouting around outside to see if you can spot a point of entry, and filling in any small gaps with that spray expandable foam. Also, if it happens to be a one-storey, check that they aren't getting in from the attic through a light fixture.

Beyond that though, those Raid poison traps could be a slightly less ghastly resort than an extermination (which I say because having any poison in the house freaks me out, even I who have had to deal with mousey mice in my 'smati rice).

*remembers that old commercial for them from roundabout 2000*

*glissandoing queen* "Mmmmmm... Smells good!" *she takes a bite*
"RAAAAAID?!?!"

[golentan]

Alteran: I don't know. I had a spider climb into my mouth once when awake, and don't even get me started on gnats. But yeah, probably psychosomatic.

Knee:Thanks for the story. I'm just a misanthropic old man, so don't take what I say too seriously when I'm complaining about people. We live in a temperate zone that's been abnormally cold this week (always 50-65 year round, been dropping into low 30s). I know where the hive is. I think.

As for the Raid: It can be strong stuff. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdvQCG5OfV4#t=2m25s)

[Alteran]

As for the Raid: It can be strong stuff. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdvQCG5OfV4#t=2m25s)

It's...it's possible to link to specific time points in YouTube videos? I think you're my hero now.

[golentan]

It's...it's possible to link to specific time points in YouTube videos? I think you're my hero now.

Umm... yeah. put #t= and then the time in minutes and seconds.

Well, at least I'm somebody living's hero. All the others are dead, which maybe says something about how effective a hero I am. :smalltongue:

[drakir_nosslin]

My parents had ants in their house a couple of years ago, and my mom came up with a wonderful solution. Feed them to death!
Ants like sugar, but apparently they die from the synthesized kind, so she took concentrated juice which contained some kind of chemical and put it out in different places in the house. It took a week, then no more ants dared show their hard little heads. I'd recommend starting out slow, since you need to be sure that the stuff you place out really kills them so you don't start feeding your intruders.

[Bhu]

Cinnamon. Cinnamon is like pepper spray to ants. Find out where theyre coming in at and liberally sprinkle ground cinammon in and outside the house. No more ants.

[Serpentine]

So yeah. Just needed to vent. Anyone have any fun ant stories? Vipermorph, I know you've got an ant farm, I figure I could use the happy version of what's happening.Took me a moment to realise you were talking to me. Did a mental double-take.
My single queen has a nice long tunnel, and seems to have stopped to neaten up the end of it. She's gotten a bit boring, actually... I hope she starts laying soon.

Aside from that, my house is kinda being invaded by ants at the moment. But that's cuz we're all a bit grotty. I had to keep the honey on the bench when I first moved in here, because for some reason they found it in the cupboard, but not out of it.
Does it look like it's going to rain soon? Ants can predict rain here. You know it's gonna get wet when you're faced with an invasion.
I find AntRid, the honeyish stuff you leave lying around, very effective, but it kills of the entire nest, so you may not want to resort to that.

[Solaris]

Umm... yeah. put #t= and then the time in minutes and seconds.

Well, at least I'm somebody living's hero. All the others are dead, which maybe says something about how effective a hero I am. :smalltongue:

Or foreshadowing as to what the ants have planned.

[Innis Cabal]

Cinnamon. Cinnamon is like pepper spray to ants. Find out where theyre coming in at and liberally sprinkle ground cinammon in and outside the house. No more ants.

This. These are words to live by. It works better then a charm

[Serpentine]

I'd imagine a lot of things would work better than a charm...

[Quincunx]

My parents had ants in their house a couple of years ago, and my mom came up with a wonderful solution. Feed them to death!
Ants like sugar, but apparently they die from the synthesized kind, so she took concentrated juice which contained some kind of chemical and put it out in different places in the house. It took a week, then no more ants dared show their hard little heads. I'd recommend starting out slow, since you need to be sure that the stuff you place out really kills them so you don't start feeding your intruders.

. . .Let me see if I'm understanding you properly--your mother used 'Fun Light' concentrate as insecticide? . . .If so, I am never drinking this stuff again.

[Vizzerdrix]

Cook the ants a nice meal. A dry mix 50% Sugar with 50% Borax. when they eat this, it will kill them. Any that get back to the nest will share it and keep the death going. I find it works best to set out on top of their nest. just dump it out on it.

Borax is a laundry booster and can be found in the grocer's around the laundry soaps.

[Ilena]

I dont know why but we had a minor ant invasion in the basement and i actually enjoyed the little critters, though i live upstairs and they never reached up there so it didnt bother me :P But its always cool to watch ants work, once watched a couple of ants carry a spider back to their nest and disassemble it to fit it inside ... it was ... very interesting. Also watched them carry one of those big black beetles. Though i do have to say its kinda disturbing to watch them attack things and kill it, they are savage little things.

[Who]

Fun ant stories? I was on holiday in Sciathos with my family many years ago and the appartment we were staying in was full of ants, only no one would believe me. So how does my dad try and convince me? He takes a biscuit out of the cupboard and proclaims 'there's no ants here' and takes a big bite. Seconds later he's spitting masticated ant on to the floor.:smallbiggrin:

[Mauve Shirt]

We had an ant invasion a few years ago. Now we have an exterminator come in monthly to check out any bug problems we have. The ants have kept away since we hired them.

[Krrth]

Keep in mind that the more it rains, the more likely they are to move indoors.


I don't have any tips, unlike the others, with the possible exception of using Mound Destroyer produced by Spectricide. It worked well for us.

edit: As for funny, does panicking when you see them coming in through the power socket count?

[Ilena]

Keep in mind that the more it rains, the more likely they are to move indoors.


I don't have any tips, unlike the others, with the possible exception of using Mound Destroyer produced by Spectricide. It worked well for us.

edit: As for funny, does panicking when you see them coming in through the power socket count?

Quick! Plug something in! Use the power! :P .... I wonder if you had a continuous line of ... i was about to say elves ... but ants between two connectors will it complete the circuit and electrocute them?

[Krrth]

Quick! Plug something in! Use the power! :P .... I wonder if you had a continuous line of ... i was about to say elves ... but ants between two connectors will it complete the circuit and electrocute them?

Heh. Considering said power socket was in use at the time (to my computer, no less!) I'm going to go with "probably not".

[Timberwolf]

Get a lage bowls and put some water in it, maybe an inch or so. Then get a large lump of jam and put it in the middle of the water, enough that you've got a jam island in the middle of the water. Then leave it next to where they come out.

Nippon ant powder is also good.

[Ilena]

Actually when i was young i used to make ant islands, they tried to swim to shore ... dont know why but they did, kinda got stuck in the water surronding them :P

[Eldan]

...
And hope that they are not the kind of ants which can build bridges. I mean, they probably aren't but I forgot to check where the OP lives.

[Ilena]

...
And hope that they are not the kind of ants which can build bridges. I mean, they probably aren't but I forgot to check where the OP lives.

Wait wait wait, what kind of ants can build bridges?!!?

[Eldan]

This kind:


http://undergrowth.org/system/files/images/antbridge-sm.jpg

http://icons-pe.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/c/CameraGuy/233.jpg


Sorry, I don't know the english name, and forgot the latin one, so I can't even look them up.

[golentan]

No, those are much warmer climate critters than our variety. Ours don't even break an 8th of an inch, and are fairly standard black ants.

[Ormagoden]

This kind:


http://undergrowth.org/system/files/images/antbridge-sm.jpg

http://icons-pe.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/c/CameraGuy/233.jpg


Sorry, I don't know the english name, and forgot the latin one, so I can't even look them up.

Formicidae Myrmicinae

[Ilena]

Omg that is ... so amazing ..... i wish i could go visit those ants :P or possibly get a queen or 12 .... though if those escaped could easily destroy the enviroment around here im sure :P or would just all die during winter.

[Serpentine]

I wish I could find this old black and white movie I saw years ago... There was some sort of outpost in the Amazon, with a huge swarm of soldier ants heading towards it. At one point, a boat with an ant-devoured corpse comes floating downstream. Anyway, they dig a big moat around the outpost and fill it with water to try to keep the ants out. They turn up... and make little leaf boats to sail across.
Preedy coole.

[golentan]

Omg that is ... so amazing ..... i wish i could go visit those ants :P or possibly get a queen or 12 .... though if those escaped could easily destroy the enviroment around here im sure :P or would just all die during winter.

Or they'd get into your houses.

@serp: Sounds exactly like a book I read as a kid. Leiningen vs. the Ants. Did they do a movie of it?

[Serpentine]

Yes! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047264/) Thank you!

[golentan]

Yes! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047264/) Thank you!

Of course. It wouldn't be hollywood if they didn't throw in a cheesy love story.

I loved the original story because it was man vs. "act of god", and nature was prophecied over and over to win, by supporting characters and by the narrator. And while man took a beating he damn sure took every inch of the 20 square miles of death with him.

Leiningen was a self assured and consistent determinator, and he won through relentless application of his methods, pushing back every time he was pushed.

Almost tengan toppa, but with Logic taking the place of FIGHTING SPIRIT!

[Killer Angel]

...
And hope that they are not the kind of ants which can build bridges. I mean, they probably aren't but I forgot to check where the OP lives.

Well, the OP is still alive, so I suppose not. :smallbiggrin:

[golentan]

Well, the OP is still alive, so I suppose not. :smallbiggrin:

That's debatable. The alive part I mean.

[drakir_nosslin]

. . .Let me see if I'm understanding you properly--your mother used 'Fun Light' concentrate as insecticide? . . .If so, I am never drinking this stuff again.

Yea, actually it was Fun Light that she used. We always have a bottle at home during summer nowadays, but no one drinks of it. It is used solely for anti-ant combat.