ant absence?

[theindependenteye]

This is the first spring since we moved here that there have been no ants -- zero ants -- not ONE -- invading the house. Anybody else had this experience? (Not complaining, just askin' . . .) -- Elizabeth Fulller

[Claire]

This is the first spring since we moved here that there have been no ants -- zero ants -- not ONE -- invading the house. Anybody else had this experience? (Not complaining, just askin' . . .) -- Elizabeth Fulller

No ants here ~ yet. They were last seen a few months back.
In our old house we never got those little ants in the winter but right after the last big rain of the season they would arrive en force.

[Gus diZerega]

You are fortunate Elizabeth. They must have moved from your place to ours.

This is the first spring since we moved here that there have been no ants -- zero ants -- not ONE -- invading the house. Anybody else had this experience? (Not complaining, just askin' . . .) -- Elizabeth Fulller

[joehogan]

I've seen more ants in and around my house in Sebastopol this year than I have for the last 25 years.

This is the first spring since we moved here that there have been no ants -- zero ants -- not ONE -- invading the house. Anybody else had this experience? (Not complaining, just askin' . . .) -- Elizabeth Fulller

[Tiann]

I've had a few scouts wandering around for a couple of months--nothing more. Some Springs are like that. Last Spring was the worst ant fiesta I'd experienced for some years. I just cleaned out the cinnamon that I sprinkle in my cupboard as a deterent, last week. And now we're entering fruit fly season . . .

This is the first spring since we moved here that there have been no ants -- zero ants -- not ONE -- invading the house. Anybody else had this experience? (Not complaining, just askin' . . .) -- Elizabeth Fulller

[Monk]

Plenty of ants here in Santa Rosa as of yesterday! Monica

No ants here ~ yet. They were last seen a few months back.
In our old house we never got those little ants in the winter but right after the last big rain of the season they would arrive en force.

[sandoak]

I think they're all at my house.

This is the first spring since we moved here that there have been no ants -- zero ants -- not ONE -- invading the house. Anybody else had this experience? (Not complaining, just askin' . . .) -- Elizabeth Fulller

[79paul]

Seriously??!! This has been the worst ant spring in 20 years here in So. Sebastopol.

This is the first spring since we moved here that there have been no ants -- zero ants -- not ONE -- invading the house. Anybody else had this experience? (Not complaining, just askin' . . .) -- Elizabeth Fulller

["Mad" Miles]

Everything seems to be happening late, in the last couple of years.

In my experience, the Formi, show up when it gets wet, and when it gets hot. This was a major issue with past housemates, as any search of the archive will reveal.

Luckily, I've lived alone for seven years. Grant's Ant Stakes. So far, this year, no worries. But the "stakes" are out there, just in case. Sort of like with Vampires.

Course, I live up heah in F'Ville. Not in, "Town".

[edie]

This is the first spring since we moved here that there have been no ants -- zero ants -- not ONE -- invading the house. Anybody else had this experience? (Not complaining, just askin' . . .) -- Elizabeth Fulller

I guess they came all over to my place... not into the house but my yard is turning into a one giant ant-mount including many pots. I would like to get rid of them- I can't imagine they are good for anything? Last summer I noticed tiny black hard bugs and aphids on my roses and veggies too... need help please, but i do not like to kill my earthworms, lizards, frogs etc... with some toxins... ???

thanks, edith

[Tiann]

So I'm wondering, aside from the inconvenience entailed in cleaning them off our countertops (and everywhere else they invade inside), what damage do ants cause, if any?

I'm a biology-head and 'bugs' are one of my favorite animals. I took a a class in pest management (a long time ago) and ants--at least the little Argentine ants we have here--didn't come up on our list of harmful pests. I DO know they're an important part of the food web in my garden. They're pretty cool, too. My deal with them is that as long as they stay outside, I'm good with them. Last time my home had an 'infestation' I worked really hard at keeping the kitchen clean of anything they might eat, and sprinkled cinnamon liberally at their points of entry. Some still managed to sneak through, but so few I could ignore their trespass.

Maybe do some research on what local species like to eat ants and encourage them in your garden. How about those lizards and frogs? Toads? Will the ants at least move out of your pots if the soil is too damp? We're learning more and more that these things are usually a matter of imbalance. If we can gently tip it back, we shift our relationship to nature from masters to stewards.

I think of the health of my garden the same way I think of my own health. I just need to get everything out of the way (anything my garden's ecology experiences as toxic) and provide the right supports so its immune system can do its job. If my 'soil' is robust, anything growing from it will be, too.

I guess they came all over to my place... not into the house but my yard is turning into a one giant ant-mount including many pots. I would like to get rid of them- I can't imagine they are good for anything? Last summer I noticed tiny black hard bugs and aphids on my roses and veggies too... need help please, but i do not like to kill my earthworms, lizards, frogs etc... with some toxins... ???

thanks, edith

[edie]

So I'm wondering, aside from the inconvenience entailed in cleaning them off our countertops (and everywhere else they invade inside), what damage do ants cause, if any?

I'm a biology-head and 'bugs' are one of my favorite animals. I took a a class in pest management (a long time ago) and ants--at least the little Argentine ants we have here--didn't come up on our list of harmful pests. I DO know they're an important part of the food web in my garden. They're pretty cool, too. My deal with them is that as long as they stay outside, I'm good with them. Last time my home had an 'infestation' I worked really hard at keeping the kitchen clean of anything they might eat, and sprinkled cinnamon liberally at their points of entry. Some still managed to sneak through, but so few I could ignore their trespass.

Maybe do some research on what local species like to eat ants and encourage them in your garden. How about those lizards and frogs? Toads? Will the ants at least move out of your pots if the soil is too damp? We're learning more and more that these things are usually a matter of imbalance. If we can gently tip it back, we shift our relationship to nature from masters to stewards.

I think of the health of my garden the same way I think of my own health. I just need to get everything out of the way (anything my garden's ecology experiences as toxic) and provide the right supports so its immune system can do its job. If my 'soil' is robust, anything growing from it will be, too.

Thank you Tiann, I heard someone say the ants suck juice out of them aphids (not kill them), an other thing I heard is that they move larvas from other species around... ??

If I would get enough ladybugs would they eat enough aphids- that would take some food away from the ants?

[Barton Stone]

They usually come into my house during the rainy season for two or three weeks and then leave of their own accord. I don't see the advantage of making them an enemy. They don't really hurt anything. They don't carry any microbes that aren't already abundant in the environment. We protect houseplants from being colonized by keeping a pan of water under the pots (block the pots up above the water level) as a moat. If a few get into the food, it's not a big deal. They're not poisonous.

The biggest problem with them that I have personally experienced is their attraction to electrical outlet boxes and gas heater vents. One switch box was so full of them and their nesting that it stopped functioning and it took a while to discover what was wrong.

A bigger and more collective problem is that they are wiping out many species of local ants, since the Argentine ones recognize themselves as all one big tribe, and they won't make war on their own tribe. Who knows how the effects of that loss of diversity may snowball through our lives?

Meanwhile they are here, whether inside or out. We can approach them with curiosity instead of anger, if we choose. They are fellow inhabitants of these coastal hills with their own dignity and purpose. They offer us a chance to explore interspecies relationship, see if we can end our part of the war on nature, and to move toward a greater alliance of all beings.

This is the first spring since we moved here that there have been no ants -- zero ants -- not ONE -- invading the house. Anybody else had this experience? (Not complaining, just askin' . . .) -- Elizabeth Fulller

[theindependenteye]

Wow. Fascinating. I have absolutely no idea what's been up with our ants -- maybe they're waiting to give me a big surprise. In past years I wasn't thrilled to have to go into wet-weather mode with my food storage and dishwashing, but I was pretty resigned and relied on oil of cinnamon in alcohol, which smelled nice and kept things way clean. It was just part of "that time of year." Now I'm *really* wondering where they went . . . Elizabeth

[geomancer]

No need for ant stakes. An effective and non-toxic ant poison is boric acid mixed with syrup. You can get the boric acid over-the-counter at a good pharmacy. Boric acid is lethal like cyanide if you have a chitinous exoskeleton, not so much if you're soft and warm on the outside. I used to slather it on cotton balls and place them where the ants came in. Worked like a charm.

Richard.

Everything seems to be happening late, in the last couple of years.

In my experience, the Formi, show up when it gets wet, and when it gets hot. This was a major issue with past housemates, as any search of the archive will reveal.

Luckily, I've lived alone for seven years. Grant's Ant Stakes. So far, this year, no worries. But the "stakes" are out there, just in case. Sort of like with Vampires.

Course, I live up heah in F'Ville. Not in, "Town".

[alanora]

I think this is a situation where the old adage applies, "Do not look a gift horse in the mouth.". Could be superstitious and other shoe dropping consciousness or.....a part of the way things work. I detest the ant event to the point where some superstition is in order. That to which we give our attention grows, I would stop looking and be in gratitude re the current balance of whatever that encourages the pest free state.

I adored the posting of Barton Stone though having not evolved to that point myself, I can only admire it.

Have had the critters so bad that the light fixtures on the ceilings were interchanges or something and with all those critters on the ceiling they would start to fall onto everything, one of their methods of scouting I guess, particularly creepy...literally.....Tried everything including professionals, in that they charged money, who used all kinds of chemicals some of which were sloppily inserted into holes drilled into walls and ceilings in an attempt to get to the nest. I later learned the argentinian ones have not a single nest but many queens and nests, making their eradication more difficult by who knows what factor!! Never worked!

I have been blessed to be virtually antless for more than a year now. I used "Terro" brand ant liquid thingies which are placed along ant path points and cause the poison to be carried to nests. I called a friend to hang with me for I feared the cabin being carried off by the armies that swarmed so thickly as to entirely blacken a wall. One is supposed to remove and replace every three months which I hesitate to do due to the flushing effect from the yummy bait, instead just leaving the old ones around while still moistish. Have seen of late three ants in the house which I have murdered which have me alert to the possibility of needing to place new ones. Placement required creativity due to presence of dog and cat in home.....Blessings, with my 2 cents...Mindy.

Wow. Fascinating. I have absolutely no idea what's been up with our ants -- maybe they're waiting to give me a big surprise. In past years I wasn't thrilled to have to go into wet-weather mode with my food storage and dishwashing, but I was pretty resigned and relied on oil of cinnamon in alcohol, which smelled nice and kept things way clean. It was just part of "that time of year." Now I'm *really* wondering where they went . . . Elizabeth

[Aquarian]

So I'm wondering, aside from the inconvenience entailed in cleaning them off our countertops (and everywhere else they invade inside), what damage do ants cause, if any?



I'm a biology-head and 'bugs' are one of my favorite animals. I took a a class in pest management (a long time ago) and ants--at least the little Argentine ants we have here--didn't come up on our list of harmful pests. I DO know they're an important part of the food web in my garden. They're pretty cool, too. My deal with them is that as long as they stay outside, I'm good with them. Last time my home had an 'infestation' I worked really hard at keeping the kitchen clean of anything they might eat, and sprinkled cinnamon liberally at their points of entry. Some still managed to sneak through, but so few I could ignore their trespass.



Maybe do some research on what local species like to eat ants and encourage them in your garden. How about those lizards and frogs? Toads? Will the ants at least move out of your pots if the soil is too damp? We're learning more and more that these things are usually a matter of imbalance. If we can gently tip it back, we shift our relationship to nature from masters to stewards.



I think of the health of my garden the same way I think of my own health. I just need to get everything out of the way (anything my garden's ecology experiences as toxic) and provide the right supports so its immune system can do its job. If my 'soil' is robust, anything growing from it will be, too.

I have never heard of sprinkling Cinnamon as a deterrent for ants......I like this. I have a very playful, curious cat and would not want him to become ill from ingesting Cinnamon by mistake. Any advice? Enjoy the spring the weather all......looks like the ants are. Shannon

"Last time my home had an 'infestation' I worked really hard at keeping
the kitchen clean of anything they might eat, and sprinkled cinnamon
liberally at their points of entry. Some still managed to sneak
through, but so few I could ignore their trespass. "

[Sara S]

Oooh, I wish I'd said that.....

They usually come into my house during the rainy season for two or three weeks and then leave of their own accord. I don't see the advantage of making them an enemy. They don't really hurt anything. They don't carry any microbes that aren't already abundant in the environment. We protect houseplants from being colonized by keeping a pan of water under the pots (block the pots up above the water level) as a moat. If a few get into the food, it's not a big deal. They're not poisonous.

The biggest problem with them that I have personally experienced is their attraction to electrical outlet boxes and gas heater vents. One switch box was so full of them and their nesting that it stopped functioning and it took a while to discover what was wrong.

A bigger and more collective problem is that they are wiping out many species of local ants, since the Argentine ones recognize themselves as all one big tribe, and they won't make war on their own tribe. Who knows how the effects of that loss of diversity may snowball through our lives?

Meanwhile they are here, whether inside or out. We can approach them with curiosity instead of anger, if we choose. They are fellow inhabitants of these coastal hills with their own dignity and purpose. They offer us a chance to explore interspecies relationship, see if we can end our part of the war on nature, and to move toward a greater alliance of all beings.

[edie]

*Meanwhile they are here, whether inside or out. We can approach them with curiosity instead of anger, if we choose. They are fellow inhabitants of these coastal hills with their own dignity and purpose. They offer us a chance to explore interspecies relationship, see if we can end our part of the war on nature, and to move toward a greater alliance of all beings.

This is great as long as there is a balance- I moved into a place some time ago, the yard full of "good" weeds and "great" soil. When it started raining a few weeks later I was not able to step anywhere out into the yard the ground was so full of large snails and slugs I thought I was in a horror movie! What would you do in a situation like that? Move out? Don't use the yard? Eat them or kill them?*

I didn't mind all these ants in my yard for the past few years but they are taking over and it is getting annoying when working with plants and in a few second they are over my arms and legs.*

I have not have them in my kitchen anymore. I found the spot where they come into the house, using used ground coffee beans or ashes seem to keep them from coming in.

I am not angry with nature. I like to keep a balance if possible in all things- what I mean, is my veggie yard more important to me or to these little cute buggers who like to eat them up?*

[Dustyg]

I right downtown in Sebastopol and had NO ants last year (treatment worked) and have only seen one ant on porch this year....very refreshing, and wonder where they are?

You are fortunate Elizabeth. They must have moved from your place to ours.

[edie]

I was reading up on ants a bit:

Most ants are harmless; fire ants, carpenter ants & argentine ants are exceptions- they are destroyers.

Ants like to be around honey dew plants, in warm areas (the house) and like sugar and other foods.

But the garden ants are carrying aphids and other larvas from plant to plant- (I watched that in my garden) creating food for them self- and can spread disease very rapidly. Killing the aphids alone is not effective, since ants will bring more from somewhere else.
Ant bait is needed to kill the nest to end the spread, then kill the aphids with a soap spray.

Some one mention boric acid & sugar on this thread- that was mentioned, to make pasty balls and place them around the nest. The ants carry the sugary stuff inside the nest, to the queen, killing off the nest.

[Rita Sue]

Hmmm, I assumed my boric acid recipe worked. I also have no ants.
Rita

I've seen more ants in and around my house in Sebastopol this year than I have for the last 25 years.

This is the first spring since we moved here that there have been no ants -- zero ants -- not ONE -- invading the house. Anybody else had this experience? (Not complaining, just askin' . . .) -- Elizabeth Fulller