Imagine! One quadrillion tiny (and some not so tiny!) insects--foraging...rampaging...looking for virtually whatever that might be eaten or, in some cases, conquered. Striding purposely along in endless lines, ants wend their way across our yards, up the walls, through practically indiscernible cracks and crevices...pouring out of what seems an impossible nowhere...into our kitchens and pantries.
First come just a few. Scouts who return to the nest with good news of dirty dishes, crumbs behind the stove, garbage cans filled to overflowing and cat munchies spilled down a floor register. A force rivaling the invading hordes of Genghis Kahn immediately mobilizes and marches--bent on stocking their group larder against the promise of another long winter.
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Ants! It seems that all quadrillion of them on Earth at any one time routinely turn up in our gardens and kitchens...overnight...without warning. And are they tough! In some cases, they can even be beneficial. All the time a bright group structure. Second only to cockroaches in tenacity, and rivaling the wily coyote in cunning, ants have adapted quite nicely to the human lifestyle and are the most group insect on our planet.
Yet, while they may be a nuisance in the home, even these pestiferous rascals can often be useful in the garden. Most species--and there are probably 14,000 in all--are omnivorous...they eat virtually whatever organic. That includes practically any other insect (except aphids--more about their connection with aphids later) together with cutworms, grubs, fleas, bedbugs, and flies. They'll even charge and drag away moths, mosquitoes and black flies. Additionally, they recycle decaying animal and vegetable material, and obvious types aerate the soil with their deep networks of tunnels.
Stories abound relating the horrors of habitancy being attacked and all but devoured by swarms of marauding ants. True, a few species can levy a nasty and painful sting (injecting a type of formaldehyde). Quite a few others will write back to threat upon their lives or security by clamping down on the nearest patch of flesh with powerful, needle-sharp jaws. But, while a serious threat outdoors, that type rarely finds its way into the home and, if left alone in the garden, would fast flee from an occasional encounter with a 160+ pound gardener wielding a hoe or trowel.
Ants do, however, have a more "devilish" side. They will safe and foster obvious types of aphids. An aphid is de facto tiny more than a very small processing unit that converts plant juices (sap) into a sweet nectar-like solution that it market in its bulging tiny body. Ants have learned that by stroking an aphid's abdomen, they are rewarded with a droplet of "honey-dew" from tiny tube-like projections on its posterior.
Remarkably, with the arrival of the frosts of fall, ants will de facto carry some of their aphid-partners into their subterranean homes where they are kept alive over winter, later to be returned to the upper parts of plants the following spring.
A number of larger insects, birds, small snakes and mammals prey upon ants so they only rarely become a serious qoute in the outdoors. Occasionally, however, a nest turns up in the wrong place and must be dealt with. Resist the natural urge to become hysterical. Ants can very de facto be encouraged to move to a distinct spot. Remember that they're where they are because conditions are favorable and food plentiful. If you make their living conditions unpleasant, more often than not they'll pack up their eggs and pupae and march off to find a new home.
Water--lots of it--is the answer. Just effect the trail of workers to the nest occasion and then pour in plenty of water to which a tiny dishwashing liquid has been added. Should that fail, a brew of blenderized tansy (a perennial herb with a pungent odor) in water should do the trick. They can't stand the smell of the stuff! Be watchful though. They may move in the wrong direction and end up in Junior's sand box, or worse: the basement. I prefer to avoid the use of toxic chemistry in the control or supervision of ants.
Finally, ants can become most bright pets, living upwards of six years for workers and as long as 12 years for the queen. Many a youngster has spent long and profitable hours observing the group behavior of these bright tiny creatures. Possibly the simplest and least high-priced formicarium is a jar of soil located in a shallow tray of water or covered with fine gauze. Start with a queen (they're the larger ones with wings) and she'll furnish her own ladies-in-waiting and workers. Feed with small scraps of meat, fruit or sugar and provide moisture by wetting a small hanger-on with water. Just be specific not to overdo the food and water...the tiny fellows can only eat and drink so much.
It all sounds suspiciously Hitchcockian doesn't it!
Ants! - 1,000,000,000,000,000 Invaders!
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