Ant graveyard?

[basscooker]

my house and yard are under attack. little tiny ants are everywhere (i'm in KY, so not fire ants). i've been using liquid bait traps. apparently, it's poison they take back to the colony, killing others, too.

so today, as i returned from work, i walked into the kitchen to see a massive graveyard. there had to have been no kidding thousands and thousands of teeny ant corpses all piled up near where we have seen them coming and going.

anybody experienced something like this? gross, sure, but kinda interesting. are they removing their dead, or just clearing the tunnels, would you think? i've just not seen this little nuance of behavior from bugs before, does anybody know if any other bugs do this?

[TOOL460002]

Yeah. They follow chemical signals. Death alerts more, so more come to die to "help" the already dead. I personally would do what you're doing, and then buy a few cans of Raid. Spray all the way around your house inside AND outside. If you got a young kid or a little dog, maybe not so much inside. When it gets hot (don't know your area) they come inside for water. This would be that time of year if I didn't live in a nice, cold mini-canyon. Kill 'em all!

[twocargar]

I had the same thing in my boat, THOUSANDS of dead Carpenter Ants that were nesting in the foam under the seats, side panels, etc. It was the strangest thing, but I am completely sold on Terro Ant Bait (which I read about here on TB).

I had Metallica's Creeping Death stuck in my head whilest shop-vaccing them up.

Edit: Last year I put up a wasp/hornet trap and caught about 30 because they apparently release pheromones to warn others in the nest.

[Tituscrow]

Ants are incredible things to watch. Humans could learn a lot about cooperation from watching an ant colony at work.

I also think 'Prince Charming' is one of the greatest pop tunes ever.

[Human Element]

I'd like to know what you used. We fight ants every summer.

[fdeck]

http://www.theonion.com/articles/ant...oil-death,334/

[twocargar]

I used this: http://www.terro.com/

I used to use Ortho Home Max, but the Carpenter Ants would just laugh when I sprayed them with it.

Originally Posted by Human Element

I'd like to know what you used. We fight ants every summer.

[yodedude2]

Originally Posted by fdeck

http://www.theonion.com/articles/ant...oil-death,334/

^^ worth reading twice.


and to the op: i suspect that, if they're clearing the nest by moving corpses to your kitchen, their nest must be within your walls or directly beneath.

[Jim Nazium]

If you listen closely, while they pile up the corpses, you can hear them sing the "Pink Panther" theme song.

Dead ant, dead ant
Dead ant
Dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant ...

[basscooker]

vince guaraldi just rolled over

cool link, btw about the ant farm. i like the onion. good stuff....

yup i use the terro ones, too. very effective, i have just never seen them piling up their dead before. i'll just have to restock, all six from the pack are already empty!