Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Ants!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Ant_and_the_Grasshopper_-_Project_Gutenberg_etext_19994.jpg
We have ants.  Lots of ants.  Ants of every size and variety.  Crawling ants, flying ants, carpenter ants, red ants, black ants, white ants, who knew there were so many ants? Ants all over the garden, ants everywhere after a rain.  Ants all over my feet in sandals! 

 According to  Wikipedia,  "More than 12,500 out of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified".  Apparently, the flying ants are males and new queens.  After mating as they fly, the males die and the queen finds a place to start her colony, breaks off her wings and starts tending to her eggs.  Wikipedia also mentions that ants, depending on species, eat anything.  The Orkin man says that different ant species require different treatment to get rid of them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Meat_eater_ant_qeen_excavating_hole.jpg
I have tried to eradicate some of the worst anthills with Borax, the ones where we tend to walk and work and stand the most - in the driveway, next to animal pens.  I've had some temporary success, but they always come back.  I believe their tunnels are deep and meandering.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WeaverAntDefense.JPG
Yet, they are all by the living areas.  There are none out in the "back 40" or the "east 20" (okay, the "back 5" and "east 2.5" acres).  Why do they stick so close to the house?  Luckily, I don't have them in the house.  Here is an interesting article about how to get rid of ants, I ran across it while researching ants for this brief post:  How to Get Rid of Ants.  Can't wait to try it on a couple of my more annoying anthills.
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2 comments:

Dave said...

Greetings!
Love the artwork and pictures along with the URLs to links. I just spent the past month, June 18 to July 18th in Cottonwood and Camp Verde Arizona. I have not seen so many ants and species in YEARS living in Oregon. Everywhere you walked you could find an ant or an army of ants!! While there I tried commercial ant killers and one stood out the best, AMDRO. I bought the smaller plastic bottle at Walmart and followed the instructions of my friend. He stated do NOT put it directly into their mound, sprinkle it at least 8" from the mound in a complete circle and NOT very heavy. I was amazed how fast they took to it.
The next day, hundreds of ants were dead around the hole as well as the population decreased from thousands to maybe a hundred. I applied another dose, and the next day they were GONE!!! Now, I've been told that they will return. Two weeks later I DID SEE about 10 or so ants, so another small dose was applied. ALL GONE AGAIN!! My assumption is that they come from other "entrances?" or maybe other "colonies" but not the same mound. ALL I KNOW IS THAT THIS PRODUCT WORKS WITHOUT ADDING WATER as one person and product suggests. You USE IT DRY. One product requires using a hose to "gently spray the application" after it has been applied to the ground. USE IT DRY! At least I did and rid my parents home of at least two different species!! A big black ant, and also a big red "fire ant".
Thanks for this article.
Dave

July 22, 2013 at 9:11 AM
mrsd said...

Thanks, Dave, May need to check that out.

July 23, 2013 at 1:18 PM

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