It's altogether frustrating, comical, and horrible
[WHO]Them![[WHO]Them](https://forumstest.unknownworlds.com/uploads/ipb/nav-10593.jpg)
You can call me Dave Join Date: 2002-12-11 Member: 10593Members, Constellation
You can call me Dave Join Date: 2002-12-11 Member: 10593Members, Constellation
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">I had ants in my room</div>Last night I found a trail of tiny ants in my room going to my trash can. There were various foodstuffs in the trash can, including an open container containing a bit of honey that they apparently loved.
So, in an effort to control the situation quickly, I disposed of anything remotely food-like in my room. But, as most people know, that doesn't stop ants. They smell a trail left by their buddies and they're going to follow it even if all treasures have been removed. That's the frustrating bit.
To get them out and trace where the hell they got in. I started vacuuming them up. I'll admit that it was very satisfying to vacuum each of these tiny intruders into oblivion. After a couple repeated attempts at vacuuming them up and finding a new cluster. I found where they were getting in. It was an imperceptibly small gap between my wall and floor.
Having never really fought ant intruders before. I needed to come up with a plan. While I was thinking, I just hung out next to the spot they were coming in. Occasionally turning on the vacuum to momentarily thwart my foes. After a few times doing this. I started to notice that they almost always started walking toward the vacuum cleaner itself. I think they were trying to follow the pheromone trail of their dead brethren coming from the vacuum's exhaust. That's horrible part (and part of the comical part).
Not wanting to wait until morning for a store to open up and sell me poison traps (and also not wanting to wait for those to work). I set out trying to make an improvised glue trap from tape and a fly strip. Before I could finish formulating exactly how I was going to construct this thing without getting that funky fly strip glue all over my wall/floor. I noticed a yu-gi-oh card that had been fallen between the wall and the molding (if that's what it's called) from the previous inhabitants of my house. I shoved the card in the gap and crammed a coin in there as well to keep the card firmly pressed against the wall.
Apparently that's all it took to completely keep the ants out of my room. Not a single ant came in after that. Heh, an actual use for yu-gi-oh cards. I lol'd.
Anyways, just wanted to share.
So, in an effort to control the situation quickly, I disposed of anything remotely food-like in my room. But, as most people know, that doesn't stop ants. They smell a trail left by their buddies and they're going to follow it even if all treasures have been removed. That's the frustrating bit.
To get them out and trace where the hell they got in. I started vacuuming them up. I'll admit that it was very satisfying to vacuum each of these tiny intruders into oblivion. After a couple repeated attempts at vacuuming them up and finding a new cluster. I found where they were getting in. It was an imperceptibly small gap between my wall and floor.
Having never really fought ant intruders before. I needed to come up with a plan. While I was thinking, I just hung out next to the spot they were coming in. Occasionally turning on the vacuum to momentarily thwart my foes. After a few times doing this. I started to notice that they almost always started walking toward the vacuum cleaner itself. I think they were trying to follow the pheromone trail of their dead brethren coming from the vacuum's exhaust. That's horrible part (and part of the comical part).
Not wanting to wait until morning for a store to open up and sell me poison traps (and also not wanting to wait for those to work). I set out trying to make an improvised glue trap from tape and a fly strip. Before I could finish formulating exactly how I was going to construct this thing without getting that funky fly strip glue all over my wall/floor. I noticed a yu-gi-oh card that had been fallen between the wall and the molding (if that's what it's called) from the previous inhabitants of my house. I shoved the card in the gap and crammed a coin in there as well to keep the card firmly pressed against the wall.
Apparently that's all it took to completely keep the ants out of my room. Not a single ant came in after that. Heh, an actual use for yu-gi-oh cards. I lol'd.
Anyways, just wanted to share.
Comments
Don't have much problems with ants indoors... guess the cockroaches eat them.
It was like the rancor in star wars... kinda
So yeah, you must put fear into the hearts because from then on you will never have to deal with insects again.
Uh-huh. Right. Previous. Not current.
The best trick for taking care of cockroaches is to oil the inside of a glass jar and put a bit of ripe banana in the bottom. They crawl in and can't crawl back out. Bung the lid on after you've caught a few and peg it through someone's window. Good times.
--Scythe--
Them was efficient and fixed the problem.
Xyth is a sadistic bast'd (and managed to work in a Star Wars reference)
Scythe managed to imply that Them is a girly man who collects yu-gi-oh cards, and supplied a way of infesting OTHER peoples' houses!
(so far I vote for the wolf spider)
Then I instigated a thorough study of the kitchen and found the buggers *everywhere*. Behind the fridge, behind the freezer, under the bin, the bin bags, behind the window/door thing, hiding behind a poster that had fell down etc... I just hoovered them all up, I had no idea what else to do, and I was overcome with a sense of "It shouldn't be me dealing with this" righteous rage.
But maggots are one thing. Ants are worse, I guess, since they can actually move about at a decent speed. And they bring reinforcements.
No, maggots are much worse.
Ants are little crawly things that are every where.
Maggots only show up when you have SERIOUS issues with keeping the place clean.
find new room mates.
Ants are little crawly things that are every where.
Maggots only show up when you have SERIOUS issues with keeping the place clean.
find new room mates.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Already done.
I'd like to think I made a difference that day.
As for home invasions, I just use "radar" spray and toxicate their nest to oblivion. However, once, I used axe spray and set the whole thing on fire.
Our true enemy over here are slugs/snails and wheat flies. The snails eat everything in the garden and the flies lay larva in our food. I remember one day when my parents just wanted them quickly eliminated and sent me to kill every snail I could find. My dad got an idea and put a welding mouthpiece on a gas canister and sent me on my rampage. It was almost educational seeing their slimy skin burning off and boiling away the guts. Afterwards we could see 50-ish small smouldering piles outside the window. The next day there was about 3 snails per dead snail, eating on their fallen brethren. The fight goes on...
Actually I found that baby talcum works, but I guess after reading Xyth's idea one could also grab a spider and shove it in wherever the ants are coming from. After the spider eats everything inside buy a nice lizard pet and have it deal with the spider. Kinda like getting a hit on your own hitman.
Actually I found that baby talcum works, but I guess after reading Xyth's idea one could also grab a spider and shove it in wherever the ants are coming from. After the spider eats everything inside buy a nice lizard pet and have it deal with the spider. Kinda like getting a hit on your own hitman.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
And then get a snake to eat the lizard and then a gorilla to eat the snake?
What if that chain happens to wind up at a human cannibal with a hearty hate for all people. What do you do then?
<!--quoteo(post=1686736:date=Aug 27 2008, 08:10 AM:name=X_Stickman)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(X_Stickman @ Aug 27 2008, 08:10 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1686736"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Found an infestation of maggots in my kitchen a few months ago. Thousands of the buggers, everywhere, hiding in weird places. The room looked empty at first, but when I decided to finally take the god damn bin bags out (there was a sort of confrontation between me and some roommates... I don't put any rubbish in the kitchen bin, I have my own bin that I empty regularly, so I refused to deal with someone else's trash, but they just left it for months and eventually I had to take the damn thigns out), I noticed that there was a lot of "rice" on the bags... and it was moving. And then I moved the bags and they were under the bags.
Then I instigated a thorough study of the kitchen and found the buggers *everywhere*. Behind the fridge, behind the freezer, under the bin, the bin bags, behind the window/door thing, hiding behind a poster that had fell down etc... I just hoovered them all up, I had no idea what else to do, and I was overcome with a sense of "It shouldn't be me dealing with this" righteous rage.
But maggots are one thing. Ants are worse, I guess, since they can actually move about at a decent speed. And they bring reinforcements.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I know the perfect way to deal with this, scoop the maggots up and put them in their beds. ^_^
Those are dedicated ants.
It was like the rancor in star wars... kinda
So yeah, you must put fear into the hearts because from then on you will never have to deal with insects again.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I believe I'd rather deal with other insects daily than have a ****ing huge spider in my room, even in a jar. The correct way to solve your problem would've been to put at least 9 gallons of gasoline in the glass tank and light it on fire.
I hate spiders, if you didn't figure that out yet <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
Good thing they are so dedicated to follow their buddies though, ants sure are nerfed and pretty easy to exploit as it seems. Sticky stuff kills them hard as is proved right here <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
No not WHO! Them!