Ants And The Warfare Against Them

[swissie]

For months I have been doing battle against ants with chemicals. Without really gaining the upper hand. But I realised, that they are not really interested in my person itself for constant visiting purposes, but they are only interested in food. So I took the following measures:

- First: No more food or food rests in the open. It all goes into the refrigerator, even unwashed dishes with food rests on them. (Even if those ants would manage to get into the fridge, they don't like the cold inside).

- Second: I put a teaspoon of sugar on my veranda. Usually within 2 hours the "Scout-Ants" have conveyed this food-source to their fellow ants in their nest and an Ant-Highway will form and pointing me to the location of their nest. Then it gets almost easy. Dig up the nest and use chemicals liberally.

How those Scout-Ants inform the rest of their fellow-ants as to where is food to be had, is not known to me. (I suppose they use Internet, Facebook, etc. etc).

At any rate, I am ready to declare victory all the way, since those measures also seem to keep other "Bugs" from visiting me !

Cheers.

PS: Come to think of it, this might also work against "AUNTS" and other undesirable Family-Members, as long as they could be classified under the zoologigal term of "Leaches".

= No more food, no more cash-money, no more nothing. This alone should do it and the final (chemical) part could be omitted, Hehe !

[MJCM]

If you find the nest put on S 85 diluted with water (available in many shops (like Home Pro or Garden Centers)) that will kill the lot. And is also cheaper then any other chemical around.

[thaibeachlovers]

I have many red ant nests in the trees around our house. Usually it is live and let live, but if they stray into "our" area it's a big can of spray, and that seems to do the trick for a while.

Every year, the locals come by to take the nests as they like to eat something in them.

[kevjohn]

Have a read of this topic. May solve your problem.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/571792-eliminate-ants-forever/page__hl__+borax%20+kills%20+ants#entry5511393

[Mosha]

I have many red ant nests in the trees around our house. Usually it is live and let live, but if they stray into "our" area it's a big can of spray, and that seems to do the trick for a while.

Every year, the locals come by to take the nests as they like to eat something in them.

The eggs

[forumuser10]

How those Scout-Ants inform the rest of their fellow-ants as to where is food to be had, is not known to me. (I suppose they use Internet, Facebook, etc. etc).

This is a serious question I have asked many times, but never got a real answer to.

Actually, I think that once an ant has found something, he just walks back to his home, while leaving a smelly trace of some sort. But what I wonder about is, how can they find it in the first place? I mean, I have never ever seen an ant in my office, but as soon as I leave something on the desk, it will take like a few hours, and I will have a army of ants marching to my desk.

Can they really smell food from like 6 meters away? How is it otherwise possible for them to find some food spills on my desk?

[swissie]

How those Scout-Ants inform the rest of their fellow-ants as to where is food to be had, is not known to me. (I suppose they use Internet, Facebook, etc. etc).

This is a serious question I have asked many times, but never got a real answer to.

Actually, I think that once an ant has found something, he just walks back to his home, while leaving a smelly trace of some sort. But what I wonder about is, how can they find it in the first place? I mean, I have never ever seen an ant in my office, but as soon as I leave something on the desk, it will take like a few hours, and I will have a army of ants marching to my desk.

Can they really smell food from like 6 meters away? How is it otherwise possible for them to find some food spills on my desk?

Well forumuser, it may well be that singular "scout ants" don't catch our eye. So we dont really realise that they are around us all the time for the sole purpose of finding food for the rest of the pack. But I have found out that a single ant can travel a distance of 1 meter in less than 2 minutes. At this rate of speed even if the nest is 20 meters away, it doesen't need the internet to convey any message within a reasonable amount of time.

But one thing I can say for sure is: My srtict rule of "no more food in the open and even dishes with rests of food on them into the fridge until washed" is an absolute success story. It took a while to enforce such draconian measures so that everybody goes by that rule as far as my house is concerned.

Another one: Upon discovering an ants nest, I poured a bag of pure sugar near the nest, just to see what would happen. After a week the sugar was gone and so were the ants, the nest was deserted.

So I wonder if they have "overindulged" and died of constipation, or have they fulfilled their reproductive cycle early, due to the fact that there was plenty of food available and the nest was not necessary anymore?

The more I look into this Ant-Thing, the more interesting it gets.

Cheers.

[StreetCowboy]

How those Scout-Ants inform the rest of their fellow-ants as to where is food to be had, is not known to me. (I suppose they use Internet, Facebook, etc. etc).

This is a serious question I have asked many times, but never got a real answer to.

Actually, I think that once an ant has found something, he just walks back to his home, while leaving a smelly trace of some sort. But what I wonder about is, how can they find it in the first place? I mean, I have never ever seen an ant in my office, but as soon as I leave something on the desk, it will take like a few hours, and I will have a army of ants marching to my desk.

Can they really smell food from like 6 meters away? How is it otherwise possible for them to find some food spills on my desk?

Satellite surveillance. Sometimes they will torture one of your fellow workers, until they talk.

Try replacing "ants" with "viet cong" and everything will become clear.

Try replacing "ants" with "bar-girls" and things willbecome less clear.

Try replacing "ants" with "ladyboys" and you won't know which way to turn...

SC

[ripstanley]

Have a read of this topic. May solve your problem.

http://www.thaivisa....ts#entry5511393

Very good advice but it appears that other poster have not taken it.

[kevjohn]

Have a read of this topic. May solve your problem.

http://www.thaivisa....ts#entry5511393

Very good advice but it appears that other poster have not taken it.

As the say in Thailand "Up to you"......

[jaidam]

After waging a 9 year war against ant infestation on my boat I finally managed to kill 100% of the ants and it only took 24 hours. Product was called ARS ant killer, bought here in Thai at a local supermarket. Its a light green flourescent coloured box that you put a sachet of yellow granules in. Put this near the ant trail and they go in the box and carry all granules back to the nest. I tried it at home also and likewise it worked perfectly. I shudder to think how much money I wasted buying Chaindrite crack and crevase spray over the years, not to mention inhaling the noxious fumes.

[forumuser10]

Well forumuser, it may well be that singular "scout ants" don't catch our eye. So we dont really realise that they are around us all the time for the sole purpose of finding food for the rest of the pack.

Meanwhile I cant say for sure, that is not the case, it sounds kind of unlikely. My desk is huge, but I sit just a few centimeters away from it, and during these 5 years when I have used this particular desk, I never ever seen an ant on it, except for, when I leave food on it.

But one thing I can say for sure is: My srtict rule of "no more food in the open and even dishes with rests of food on them into the fridge until washed" is an absolute success story.

Yes, that is what I think is true, they are nowhere to be found if there are no food around. Not even scout ants, at least I have never seen them on my desk, or anywhere near it, because I would notice it.

Another one: Upon discovering an ants nest, I poured a bag of pure sugar near the nest, just to see what would happen. After a week the sugar was gone and so were the ants, the nest was deserted.

Now that is interesting, what happened, really, we don´t know.

The more I look into this Ant-Thing, the more interesting it gets.

Yes, I agree, it is interesting.