Invasion of the Ants

I have once again unleashed germ warfare on the thousands of innocent ants living under my floorboards. The genocide of 2007 employing the Rentokil mercenaries appears to have been unsuccessful. Winged ant hotties have been coming out through the cracks in the floor boards and parading around the place, flaunting their sexuality in front of the much bigger fully clothed residents. As it is difficult to stone them I have once again called in the mercenaries who have pledged to do whatever it takes to erase the colony.

In the meantime, hoards of these invaders are once again running amok in outdoor areas generally. They have been all over the footpaths for the last few days. The Irish Times is even on the case:

Link: Irish Times Ant Story

I haven't seen any this year. There is a tree outsid my house where there are usually millions of them, so I'll check this evening.

There is stuff you can get that the ants carry home and it wipes them all out.

This has happened every year since there have been ants. I think that is many many millennia more than there have been humans. I look on it as a sign that summer has at last come.

The story is accurate, particularly about Terenure - we're absolutely plagued with them at the moment.

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

There is stuff you can get that the ants carry home and it wipes them all out.

That's what the products say but none of them worked for me last year. I spent the whole summer under seige. Al the various gels traps etc did was to spread them about. I eventually got Rentokil to nuke them but even after that they have come back this year. The Rentokil guy told me that there is no product that really works by being brought back to the nest.

Zhou_Enlai wrote:

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

There is stuff you can get that the ants carry home and it wipes them all out.

That's what the products say but none of them worked for me last year. I spent the whole summer under seige. Al the various gels traps etc did was to spread them about. I eventually got Rentokil to nuke them but even after that they have come back this year. The Rentokil guy told me that there is no product that really works by being brought back to the nest.

So another case of advertisers telling tall stories. I prefer ants to advertisers.

Our garden is plagued with black ants at the moment. When I was removing newly cut leaves from the footpath, I lifted some to find them in their thousands, scavenging amongst the dross. However, I don't view it as something negative. I've seen a lot of unusual insects around the place this year. I have found grasshoppers on me after gardening, which I have never seen in Dublin, although are plentiful in Clare. I have seen spiders with large green abdomens, and a beautiful black spider tried to cross my legs in bed last night. One of my favourite sights anywhere, is seeing ants, black or red, gathering waiting for their wings to dry so they may mate and start a new colony.

Last year our kitchen was infected with black ants. Rather than kill them all, it was merely a case of blocking a small tiny access route through the concrete into the house. Our neighbour, however, has begun a genocidal campaign, rather similar to yours, being under the delusion that they will eat through his concrete foundation.

They're welcome to the garden as far as I am concerned. I also have seen loads of insects around. Something comes through my window every 10 minutes in fact. Yesterday it was some class of a beetle.

I wonder does the insect poplation explosion have anything to do with the bird population implosion? There is some serious eco-unbalancing going on. Frogs and bumble bees soon to be thing of the past. Only one large bumble bee through my window this year. They were regular visitors last year. Frogs are being attacked by bacteria world wide.

On a similar vein, I haven't seen one single wasp this year. My Vulgaris Germanica are usually all over the place at this time. Only 2 years ago I had a huge nest in the shed.

Zhou_Enlai wrote:

They're welcome to the garden as far as I am concerned. I also have seen loads of insects around. Something comes through my window every 10 minutes in fact. Yesterday it was some class of a beetle.

I wonder does the insect poplation explosion have anything to do with the bird population implosion? There is some serious eco-unbalancing going on. Frogs and bumble bees soon to be thing of the past. Only one large bumble bee through my window this year. They were regular visitors last year. Frogs are being attacked by bacteria world wide.

Perhaps it does. But fantastically, those birds that do survive should have a population explosion next year due to the rich amount of food available. I could justbe naive however. To be dreadfully honest, I haven't seen a frog in nearly 15 years.

Ha, I've seen plenty of frogs. And the odd bumble-bee and wasp. But I've never seen a black ant on these shores, nor do I want to. Haven't seen a ladybird yet.

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

On a similar vein, I haven't seen one single wasp this year. My Vulgaris Germanica are usually all over the place at this time. Only 2 years ago I had a huge nest in the shed.

Have one of those in the attic (dormant, thank God). Apparently I have to contact the local council re proper removal (that reminds me...).

Bees are out and about, had a frog in the back garden last weekend. Unfortunately, the cats probably get to those before we do. Millions of blooming ants coming up thru gaps in the patio and migrating up into the pots. One plant already partially destroyed.

... and every evening at about 8 / 8.30pm, the local fox family come and play in the back garden. Baby fox growing very fast and has a fabulous coat on him/her. They eat whatever bread is left out or the nuts that have fallen from the bird table. Have a drink of water from mini-pond, have a roll around and then they're off. One of the cats seems to have fallen in love with them

I had heard rumours that Dr. Doolittle and Snow White had married and were hiding out somewhere in Ireland....

Atticus wrote:

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

On a similar vein, I haven't seen one single wasp this year. My Vulgaris Germanica are usually all over the place at this time. Only 2 years ago I had a huge nest in the shed.

Have one of those in the attic (dormant, thank God). Apparently I have to contact the local council re proper removal (that reminds me...).

Bees are out and about, had a frog in the back garden last weekend. Unfortunately, the cats probably get to those before we do. Millions of blooming ants coming up thru gaps in the patio and migrating up into the pots. One plant already partially destroyed.

... and every evening at about 8 / 8.30pm, the local fox family come and play in the back garden. Baby fox growing very fast and has a fabulous coat on him/her. They eat whatever bread is left out or the nuts that have fallen from the bird table. Have a drink of water from mini-pond, have a roll around and then they're off. One of the cats seems to have fallen in love with them

Lucky you to have fox watching on tap.

The only thing we have this year different to previous years are two thrush families and a lot of empty snail shells. The thrushes seem to get through about 30 a day, and leave the empty shells outside the back door where they crunch underfoot.

I swear to god I've never seen flying ants

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2008/0724/1216741027887.html

Auditor #9 wrote:

I swear to god I've never seen flying ants

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http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2008/0724/1216741027887.html[/quote[/url]]

I've seen them in both Dublin and Clare. If you walk down a country lane on a hot midsummer's day you may just be lucky enough to catch them before takeoff.

I also remember one time, in a field with my cousin we accidentally knocked the topstone of a drystone wall. Underneath there were thousands of ants surrounds what I can only assume were eggsacks. They began frantically lifting them and carrying them down further into the wall. I found it fascinating.

Jaysus that sounds cool. I should look around a bit more when I'm out walking around in the countryside.

Have ye never seen that? It was a regular occurance when I was a nipper, looking for worms under big heavy stones. They were carrying pupae, not eggs.

I'm glad to report that I saw a ladybird.

This is a new one. I was walking home from the nightclub the other night talking to a complete stranger, as you do, when we spotted a hedgehog crossing the road. The por bugger was nearly run over by a taxi. So we did what any concerned drunk people would do, we eh, kicked him to safety. They were gentle kicks now. I'd never seen a hedgehog before that night.

We had one in our backgarden too. The dog went mental at it, but couldn't get past the spikes. That's what they're there for says you. It did have it's final revenge though by giving our dog fleas, which is unusual, as pet's corner on echo island informed me that hedgehog fleas only infest hedgehogs. Damn that peter what's his face, he's as misleading as Future Taoiseach.

riadach wrote:

Our garden is plagued with black ants at the moment.

Ant racist scum! 

My dad had some terrible trouble with ants last year and tried all the different things that are supposed to kill them off. Nothing worked but the problem doesn't seem to be as bad this year
Going slightly off-course.....
I came across this really cool site of closeup pictures of insects

http://thehomebased.com/?p=81

AfricanDave wrote:

My dad had some terrible trouble with ants last year and tried all the different things that are supposed to kill them off. Nothing worked but the problem doesn't seem to be as bad this year
Going slightly off-course.....
I came across this really cool site of closeup pictures of insects

http://thehomebased.com/?p=81

Not cool. Mega. Awsome photographs. Cheers for that link AD.

http://thehomebased.com/?p=47

sunrises.

Bloody amazing photographs there. I'm not easily impressed being an incredible photographer myself but that's stunning work...

cookiemonster wrote:

riadach wrote:

Our garden is plagued with black ants at the moment.

Ant racist scum!

Ah, so you're suggesting I should get Dub006 to give them all a talking to? I'm quite sure they're all illegal, sure how else would they have gotten into the garden but illegally.