zombe on 18/8/2007 at 22:23
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharaoh_ant)
Thous little fuckers established a presence in my external hdd box - they didn't like, that for several hours i watched moves (serial actually) from it and i caught them in the middle of their emergency evacuation operation (a bit hot it seems). ~300 buggers down the drain :)
Have had them for more than 15 years now (and they had my apartment before i arrived). Guess what - I HATE THEM! Can't get rid of them! Why?
Too many of them and not enough people willing to fight back for long-enough period ...
There are about 25 nests of size 400 per apartment
* 5 apartments per stair
* 3 stairs per building
* 7 buildings
= ~1mil buggers.
... and they always come back. :(
btw, their favored menu:
* everything that i consider to be eatable by humans (not necessarily by me)
* cat-food
* everything that is wet
* older books and newspapers (nothing good so far)
* other insects (including their dead members)
* shoes
* things they are capable of carrying away (no jokes please)
\me just sharing my ager. So, has anyone something similarly annoying to deal with?
BrokenArts on 18/8/2007 at 22:36
Ohhh, never heard of them, until now. Well that just sucks. I'm sorry.
Sounds like the only thing you can do is deal with your space. Bombing your place, sprays, etc. Have you done anything to try and get rid of them? You don't mention anything. Call a pest control place, read up on how to get rid of them! Sounds like you need to be diligent in your efforts to get rid of them.
Good luck.
zombe on 18/8/2007 at 22:59
How we fight them (copy paste from a site):
* Pharaoh ant elimination can only be accomplished through an extensive indoor baiting program. Indoor treatments with residual insecticides will not eliminate an infestation of these ants. Only about 5% of a Pharaoh ant colony's workers are out foraging for food at any one time. By attempting to kill ants with a spray, the remaining 95% of the workers will become stressed and split into two or more new colonies. This splitting of colonies among ants is known as budding.* Baits must be place in every area where ants are known to forage. Dual Choice, FluorGuard or Maxforce FC should be used. You also must bait areas where they may possibly forage. In wall voids and attics, use Maxforce FG granular bait. This will ensure that foraging workers from all colonies within the structure will contact and feed on your bait. The mobility of the colony and its queens as well as multiple colonies in one building demands multiple baiting sites.
*
In severe infestations of larger buildings, total elimination of Pharaoh ants has been known to take up to a year. Because of the particular habits of this pest, your baiting program should extend for several months. Even after the ants seemed to have been eliminated, continue to place fresh ant bait in areas known to have been frequented by them.
* Because Pharaoh ants tend to trail along edges, place baits in corners and along edges of door moldings and baseboards. This precise bait placement ensures that the ants are more likely to find your bait. Placing baits in the middle of cabinets or walls reduces the chances of the ant pests finding the bait.
* Although the active ingredient and attractants in Maxforce bait are practically non-toxic to mammals, make sure that children and indoor dogs and cats cannot get to your bait. Children and pets could possibly choke on the plastic station. Simply place the bait stations out of reach of children and pets.
Another nice info site (
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2136.html)
It has shown to work only in winter time - somewhat. Some always survive - even over wintertime (the building is from Russian time - lots of places ants can comfortably live without problems and where we can't reach and from where they hardly get to visit our baits).
fett on 19/8/2007 at 01:23
Shit dude - it's time to relocate. Those things are seriously scary little monsters.
Aerothorn on 19/8/2007 at 03:33
And never squash ants. The blood contains pheremones or something that attracts more. At least on some kinds of ants - dunno about these.
Me, I feel horribly guilty if I accidentally kill an ant.
SD on 19/8/2007 at 12:38
Quote Posted by Aerothorn
Me, I feel horribly guilty if I accidentally kill an ant.
You must feel suicidal every time you eat a beefburger then!
On ants: you shouldn't feel remotely guilty if you accidentally kill one. They aren't individuals like higher animals, but mindless drones whose only purpose in life is to preserve the colony. It's more useful to view the colony as the organism when you're talking about social insects. Killing one ant is more akin to killing a skin cell than it is to running over someone's dog.
Ulukai on 19/8/2007 at 13:04
I'm sure we've all kept ourselves busy with a magnifiying glass on a hot summer's day.
Ermana on 19/8/2007 at 13:13
Hi, I can tell unbelievable story how to rid of them. I began to notice some in the bathroom where is warm and wet. Not much, but annoying. The sprays didn’t help. One day I was hoovering and a walnut got into hose of hoover. I removed it and the walnut broke. There was a nest of ants! I am a unlucky one which saw how it looks like. I have no idea how this walnut got under my furniture because I never buy them, especially unhusked ones. But after this ants disaperead. And ants really hates all repairing works, when they feel dust of cement or wet paint – they leave too.
Pest control is very good idea, but your neighbourhood should do it too, otherwise it does not work.
Good luck and patience for finding the source :) I read somewhere that you should follow their paths :nono:
BrokenArts on 19/8/2007 at 14:00
Quote Posted by fett
Shit dude - it's time to relocate. Those things are seriously scary little monsters.
If he doesn't bring them with him, where ever he goes.
zombe on 19/8/2007 at 20:44
Quote Posted by BrokenArts
If he doesn't bring them with him, where ever he goes.
Yes, that would be hard to avoid. Their females are numerous and highly active (seen them quite often walking around [their last walk that is]). Also, their nests are often in the oddest locations imaginable and when the nest is small - hard to notice they are even there.
Careful inspection of every item you take with you to someplace that is not infested is a must. That sounds probably easier than it really is - for example, i would not had thought that there is a nest in my dvd-burner without seeing a massive evacuation from drive, after some intensive burning operation, through the small round hole in the drives front panel.
Quote:
Pest control is very good idea, but your neighbourhood should do it too, otherwise it does not work.
Given the time-frame and costs - there are too many people that can't afford it and too many people not able/willing to bother with it.
Btw, i don't live near any city - just the center of a small town.
