6 replies to this topic

[Dukagora]

Hello,

 

The yellow ants I had described last year are clearly back and quite active. They have been foraging in my kitchen recently. I noticed quite a few just outside my door as well. Last night I killed 2 crickets and used them with some sugar water to see where these ants would return to once they made their discovery. Turns out they consistently return right underneath the wood below my front door. This brought me to the realization that I need to have this redone as I saw a lot of issues with how this was built. Point is I believe that what is possibly my favorite species of ant also probably has a nest at least sort of in my home. That they are possibly carpenters is somewhat concerning. I know carpenters do not eat wood itself but remove damaged wood and live within the hallowed space, unless I am mistaken. I know I probably shouldn't have fed them but interestingly enough after leaving for 10 minutes and returning, a wolf spider found and took one of the crickets and hanging off the wall, the corpse of the other one was found hanging from the mouth of a fellow cricket so the ants didn't get to keep them long. Also these ants appear to love hard boiled eggs.

 

That said, how do all of you handle a nest you have in your home? I am not a big fan of removal/extermination at all but I also have a home to protect. These all appear to be foragers. Given they forage together I assume maybe the the one with a dark colored head is a major. I thought if during the process of fixing this area of the home it would be great to snag some of the colony and queen if they are still around by the time I finally get to this project. They might well be farther into my home though and out of reach though.

 

https://i.imgur.com/FEckeCr.jpg

 

 

https://i.imgur.com/YFVtxla.jpg

 

 

https://i.imgur.com/8S2wyYH.jpg

 

https://i.imgur.com/FEckeCr.jpg

 

https://i.imgur.com/U5I4KYM.jpg

[FSTP]

Those are certainly Camponotus fragilis I do not believe they are wood boring however so you don't have to worry about then damaging structures. But they like to nest in soil underneath rocks and such so they're probably excavating the soil out from underneath whatever structure they're living under in your home. If they become a huge issue there are numerous ways to kill them I'll leave that up to you to decide how to rid your home of them.

[Dukagora]

That makes perfect sense. I moved two large rocks in my backyard about a month ago. Probably 5 feet from each other and found the smaller ones under both rocks. This makes it easier to put my wifes mind at ease while also hopefully getting a few queens and starting my own colonies at some point. Thanks for the info. Much appreciated!

[ANTdrew]

These sound easier to deal with and far more interesting than the ants I have taking over my home, Tapinoma sessile. I just tolerate them and joke about them being my free range colony. If you really must get rid of these ants, the best thing are the gel baits that workers eat and take back to the queen. If I were you, though, I would just focus on sealing up their entry point and leaving them be.

[Dukagora]

Nah I have no plans to oust them. We seem to have 5 or so different species in our house coming and going. One of them seemed nomadic and moving through the house periodically. My only concern was damage to the house but I don't think that is occurring so I am not going to worry about it. I am probably going to keep keep feeding them though =) They are pretty easy going so far.

[Zeiss]

A real, live Honeypot Ant replete! With a whole colony!

Sarkari Result Pnr Status 192.168.1.1

This look like spam to anyone else?

 

Looked at the profile.  This is spam.

Edited by Zeiss, July 10 2019 - 11:36 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Yup. Slice it, fry it, and serve it on a bun with lettuce and tomato.