Post #154,185
5/7/04 2:23:16 AM
5/7/04 2:29:10 AM
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Ants have no natural enemies?
The ants around here form long, thick lines, and march all over the house inside and out, and not a single living thing eats them. No birds, no mice, no roaches, no nothing. I overheard somebody once saying that some ants have no natural enemies. How can that be? Where the hell is Darwin when you need him?
I have read about Fire Ants having this issue in the south, but these are not Fire Ants.
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oop.ismad.com
Edited by tablizer
May 7, 2004, 02:29:10 AM EDT
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Post #154,190
5/7/04 4:19:47 AM
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Time to get a pet aardvark?
I recently had an influx of ants into my kitchen. The solution? Clean the kitchen :( Took me a while but I finally found the 'unsecured' box of icing sugar, of which they were very fond indeed. After that, they got the hint within a week and haven't been back since. Or, they finally found the ant-bait. I'm not sure which is the cause...
Two out of three people wonder where the other one is.
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Post #154,191
5/7/04 7:58:04 AM
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Anteater.
[link|http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/giantant.htm|Giant Anteater]. They are also [link|http://infoventures.com/e-hlth/answers/ants.html|quite territorial] and do away with members of other colonies. If you have multiple nests, you could dig up a bucket of ants from one nest and dump it on another nest. Ants are very territorial, and they will readily hunt and kill invading colonies. Alex
There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't.
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Post #154,211
5/7/04 10:35:51 AM
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Have you tried a gecko?
I know that some kinds of small lizards will eat ants, you'll have to investigate which varieties will enjoy dealing with your problem though. And keeping it around may be another issue if you like to keep the door open.
Personally I'm just aggressive with well-placed ant traps, and scrubbing down known trails with plenty of water and detergent. That's kept them under control for me so far.
Cheers,
Ben
To deny the indirect purchaser, who in this case is the ultimate purchaser, the right to seek relief from unlawful conduct, would essentially remove the word consumer from the Consumer Protection Act
- [link|http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?NewsID=1246&Page=1&pagePos=20|Nebraska Supreme Court]
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Post #154,215
5/7/04 10:44:25 AM
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Horned toads becoming extinct
In the Southwest, we have the Horned Toads that also eat ants. Unfortunately, they have not been able to cope with the northern movement of the fire ants (a new species of ants within the last 30 years). So even though they eat ants, the explosion of fire ants is causing their demise. Haven't seen a horned toad (the mascot of TCU), around these parts in years. I do have geckos around my house, but I must say that they barely make a dent in the ant population.
Only cure I've found for keeping them out of the house is to find out where they are coming from outside and get rid of them there. Efforts at controlling them once they are in are futile.
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Post #154,325
5/8/04 5:10:24 PM
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Let me get this strait
So even though they eat ants, the explosion of fire ants is causing their demise. Haven't seen a horned toad (the mascot of TCU), around these parts in years. So what you are saying is that they eat native ants, but not fire ants, and fire ants are displacing the native ants? Only cure I've found for keeping them out of the house is to find out where they are coming from outside and get rid of them there. There are some thorny decorative bushes out there where they come from. Either I cut them down, or get a big ouchy. ________________
oop.ismad.com
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Post #154,336
5/8/04 7:23:56 PM
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ICLRPD (new thread)
Created as new thread #154335 titled [link|/forums/render/content/show?contentid=154335|ICLRPD]
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Post #155,779
5/18/04 5:29:33 PM
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Re: Have you tried a gecko?
Had a few geckos running around my house in Guam. They left little messes hanging on the walls, and eggs in the window sills. Still had the occasional ant problem.
~~~)-Steven----
"I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.
He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country..."
General George S. Patton
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Post #154,217
5/7/04 10:49:07 AM
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Yes they do. You are their natural enemy :)
--
Buy high, sell sober.
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Post #154,326
5/8/04 5:10:54 PM
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not thus far
________________
oop.ismad.com
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Post #155,852
5/18/04 11:35:47 PM
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You can work with them..
Made a deal; I put my temp garbage on back porch (rural area here). They are free to make trails to that bag (till I dump it in main garbage can). Initially.. any scouts sent INside, I mercilessly terminated, leaving remains lying about for a time. Haven't seen scouts in years.
This worked just fine for a number of years. Lately, I think the colony has moved on (or drowned or dehydrated during various spells?)
Point - never had a "house invasion". I can't comment on the efficacy of my 'communications', of course. But I believe thus far - you can 'work with them'.
(Have heard a few others describe similar approaches, through the years; IMO it beats spraying everything around that is Not-me, and aiming for an aseptic environment to match an aseptic mind.)
Ashton
He talks to ants
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