Author Topic: Does anyone know anything about ants?  (Read 5136 times)

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Offline David Hess

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #25 on: May 07, 2022, 01:59:14 am »
The reproductive cycle of ants is quite fascinating, to be honest. Female ants (workers and queens) come from fertilized eggs, while males come from unfertilized eggs. The queen can choose which type to lay, depending on the size and health of the colony.

For ants which do not take slaves and maybe some other exceptions, the workers actually have more power than the queen and "farm" her for their benefit.  The queen tries to undermine the workers by mating with more than one drone to reduce the relatedness between workers.

For ant species which take slaves, since the workers are the wrong species, they are busy trying to influence or control the wrong species of queen.

For a long time the eusocial nature of ants and other hymenoptera was evidence that Darwinian evolution was wrong, but once the secret of their sex determination was figured out, they became the exception which further proved that it was correct.  Their behavior is a result of the females being more closely related to each other, 75% in the simple case, than their own children, 50%, if they had them.
 

Offline Psi

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #26 on: May 07, 2022, 02:27:45 am »
I usually just
1) Trace back down the long line of ants to find exactly where they are getting into the house from.
2) Remove the object the ants have found and are eating
3) Wait 1 hour for them to disappear back where they came from now that the food is gone
4) Seal up the opening they came inside from with some filler.


Once you've done that a few times and sealed up all the holes there are no more ants inside :)
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Online MK14

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #27 on: May 07, 2022, 02:59:07 am »
Warning: Big NECRO (nearing 3 years old) by single post, new (suspicious) user.
 
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Online RJSV

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #28 on: May 07, 2022, 07:37:18 am »
drussel: A question:
  Are you saying 'white dust' is from cabin wall interiors, or is that your applied ant deterrent ?
In other words, did you mean a 'harmful' substance, not meant to be released, that's ok as long as structure isn't breached?
Just curious, thanks.
 

Online ebastler

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #29 on: May 07, 2022, 08:58:17 am »
User drussel has last been active on this forum a year ago. The spam poster who resurrected this very old thread has just been banned. Why not let this thread quietly fade away again?
 
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Offline jonovid

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #30 on: May 09, 2022, 09:22:38 am »
ant colony's will send out scout ants then the path finders before establishing the main ant convoy. with ant traffic in both directions.

to video them you need a high frame rate. and a macro lens. behind a glass window in a sealed plastic container. to keep then on the outside.
inbed the container and its glass window were the main ant convoy will cross the glass.

to kill a nest, need to get them to take poison'd food back to the queen located 2 to 3 feet underground.   with her dead the nest and colony will die.
to stop infestation in a kitchen ,  immediately spray any scout ants on sight so they can not call for more path finders.

flying ants are the female new-queens and the male drones.  the worker ants and soldier ants with big heads both have no wings and are infertile or non-binary.
most ants seen out side the nest are the workers, the maiden flight of the virgin queen ants is usually with changes of weather or barometric pressure.
coming out of the underground nest just before rainfall or stormy weather.
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Online voltsandjolts

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #31 on: May 09, 2022, 10:45:00 am »
I find it amusing that a spammer uses a thread about ants to sneek into the forum to 'feed' on the free advertising  ;D
 
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Online Wallace Gasiewicz

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #32 on: May 10, 2022, 11:37:10 am »
Borax, Powdered sugar and instant grits, about equal proportions. Dry.
Sprinkle outside near the ant colony.
They will take the stuff home to the queen and the instant grits will expand in the queen and kill her.

Be sure to wash off your shoes and feet so the ants do not follow you into the house.
 

Offline themadhippy

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #33 on: May 10, 2022, 12:15:13 pm »
Don't tread on an ant, he's done nothing to you,there might come a day when he's treading on you
and  you'll end up black and blue.
 

Online Ground_Loop

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #34 on: May 12, 2022, 09:53:31 pm »
This is the stuff you need if you can get it. I mixed up 50 gallons and poured it around my foundation 4 years ago. And not an ant trail since.

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Online Messtechniker

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #35 on: May 12, 2022, 10:17:10 pm »
In our case the ants were coming in underneath our back door. :palm:
5 cm wide double sided sticky tape put in their way
stopped them and some other crawlies. :-+
Replace tape from time to time as needed.
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Offline mikeselectricstuff

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #36 on: May 12, 2022, 10:34:53 pm »
Nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure....
https://youtu.be/LzApW0WsVfs?t=22
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Offline free_electron

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #37 on: May 12, 2022, 10:51:10 pm »
Advion Ant. works like a champ
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Any comments, or points of view expressed, are my own and not endorsed , induced or compensated by my employer(s).
 

Offline TimFox

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Re: Does anyone know anything about ants?
« Reply #38 on: May 12, 2022, 10:58:49 pm »
Spray them with aether.
 


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