I just watched a line of ants maneuver around a crumb on my kitchen counter like it was the Rosetta Stone of carbohydrates. They coordinated, they adapted, they overcame. Meanwhile, I’ve been wearing the same pair of socks for three days because I “lost track of laundry time,” whatever that means.
Anyway, do you think ants look at us and go, “Wow, this guy controls fire and refrigeration and still can’t finish a single task without checking his phone mid-way”? Or are they just blissfully unaware?
Also, unrelated, but does anyone know how to gently evict ants without feeling like a war criminal?
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You have a great sense of humour. Sadly, I don’t have an answer for you. When I was a kid, and we had an ant infestation, my parents poured the boiling water onto them and their nest.
Good on you for choosing to do no harm.
https://www.thespruce.com/get-rid-of-ants-cheaply-and-naturally-1388157
Ants don’t care about us or what we think, and to the great depth at that. One day they decided to make a silk road through my kitchen, from the vent shaft to the window. All my attempts to disrupt the path with obstacles, poison traps and straight killing the ants were met with utter disdain. Only tracking their nest and wiping it with a vacuum cleaner worked. Don’t play games with these little fuckers, they only understand brute force and firepower superiority.
I just wonder how small their little brains actually are? 🤔 do they poop and pee?
OP you sound really cool and fun. Anyone who can sit and watch ants and pay attention to them is a cool person in my book.
As for the ants, find where they’re coming from and leave a little pinch of sugar or flour right there so they don’t come inside.
Otherwise just use Home Defense. It can be used inside and outside and is nontoxic to babies and pets after it dries/evaporates
Well, ants do go to war with other anthills, have battlefields, a soldier class, and mass graveyards… But this would be less of a war and more like a natural disaster. Functionally, to the ants, you’re a Greek god. You control the power of the elements in ways beyond their ken, are prone to folly (dirty socks and a phone addiction)… And now that they’ve come to your attention, they’ll either be observed with indulgent fascination, given commandments (Leave This Sacred Place And Do Not Return), or killed en masse.
I guess it just depends now on which kind of god you want to be?,
(All hail Hermes and Hestia, ig…)
They’ll be there as long as there’s food available. The nonviolent route is to do a really thorough big clean of the affected areas in your home, remove everything from counters and tabletops and wipe everything down (ants leave scent trails for each other) then store all your food in tupperware or similar airtight containers and wipe your surfaces after using them. It will make your home an uninteresting place for ants. Before you do this, carefully observe where the ants enter and exit from and where they are most active to know where to do the most frequent soapy wipe downs.
Edit- and the main question of course – i like the school of thought that among all things, we are the “youngest” and most childlike/inexperienced and that everything else looks upon us with a sort of loving head shake the way you’d do with a sweet and idiotic younger sibling. So, yes.
I love your sense of humor. I too am wearing 3 day old socks but hey. Eventually I’ll wash something to put on my feet.
No.
Once I heard “Lions do not concern themselves with the opinions of mice.” And it makes me thing of that.
Also in sci fi beings so big like as big as a galaxy so so big people can’t even perceived or comprehend them because you can’t see it all at once. You look at it but don’t get it.
I don’t think the notice us. They’re too busy getting it done!
Have you ever watched an ant documentary? They are freaking cool.
Also there’s a youtube channel called Ants Canada that’s supposed to be epic. All types of terrariums and stuff. Check it out.
Edit to add: great casual convo. Thanks.
A bug’s life popped into my head
You’d like the book Empire of the Ants
Nah, they’re definitely judging. I bet their equivalent of Reddit is just constant memes about our dumb fleshy bodies and weird obsessions. As for the eviction, try drawing a chalk line. Apparently, they won’t cross it. Total ant-lifehack.