MY LIFE WITH ANTS - Part 1

The Smarts of Ants

What ants can teach us about sustainable building and cooperation.

I’ve had lot of visits from an ant family lately. Unsolicited, I thought, until I took a closer look. It all began when I came home one night and found Larry and Missy’s cat food covered by ants.  “Hmm”, I simply thought.  “Ants!”  I dutifully emptied both the dry and wet food into a bag, swept the ants into a dustpan and gave the kids fresh food and water.  I then took the ants and cat food out to the large outside garbage can where they could eat happily without disturbing me.

          Next morning when I awoke they were back in force all over the kid’s food.  I took the time to follow their trail to see where they were coming from.  The food cupboard!  “Of course”, I said to myself.  So, dutifully I removed everything, wiped the cupboard shelves squeaky clean, made sure everything was sealed, and replaced everything.  Next morning, they were back yet again.  What tenacity!

          My “kids” wouldn’t eat while the ants were around on their food.  I remembered something my dear Mum had told me.  “Put the food bowls in another bigger bowl with water in it, and make sure there is enough room around the edges so the ants can’t jump into the bowls. Like a moat.”  I did and this has solved that problem. (Thank you Mum!)

          The next day, there they were again, this time on the counter and in the sink, again their trail led to the food cupboard.  “Oh”, I thought, “surely can't be something still in there.”  But, dutifully I removed, cleaned and replaced everything again, this time putting chalk on the cupboard edge to stop their trail.  Next day they were back again!  Went right through the chalk line. Boy, could I learn something about persistence and determination from these guys!

          “Okay, I have a choice, to see them as friend or foe”, I said to myself.  I chose friend, after all they are part of my life on this planet. Besides they were intriguing me.  I wanted to keep my chemical usage to a bare minimum but this was getting a bit much.  So I found a source of natural deterents  http://www.thefrugallife.com/ants.html (tips) and experimented with a lot of them, most of them worked, placing them around their entry point with an apology, "sorry guys, but you have got to get the message".  It worked.  Until…the next day…there they were again.  A new entry point, under the kitchen window.  I knew they had their nest outdoors under the concrete patio. They were singularly focused on a tiny piece of cat food in the sink. I noticed that they seemed to "head for the hills" (so to speak) the moment I showed up.  Mmm.  Smart little guys. I did not mean them harm, I just wanted to find a way for us to cohabitate.

          That’s it,” I said to myself.  “I’ve got to get more serious about this.”  This time I decided to take responsibility and see what I was doing that was calling them in.  So I began to fine detail my inspections and noticed that in every instance there was either a small crumb, or drop of wet cat food (they just love the wet cat food); or some unseen residual sugary substance that must still be in the area.  They don't like cheese!

          I ran the water in the sink and washed this lot down with a small prayer, took a sponge and thoroughly wiped everything in the sink and around it.  In 20 minutes they were all gone.  It worked. I again put a small amount of pesticide on a paper towel and wiped a six inch line at their entry point. Then I saw a long single trail of them weaving their way from the kitchen to the living room…all feasting on a very small crumb I had missed when cleaning up.  All I did was remove the crumb and within 30 minutes they were gone.

          I also noticed that only one, two or three appeared at first.   I found that they send out scouts to see what's on the horizon then call in the rest of the community for a feast. (Sounds like our old cowboys and indians movies).   If I remove the few that first show up, first watching where they are hovering, I can see where I may have left a crumb, a drop- of a sweet drink or, what they love most, protein!  My dealing with the beginning and the few, I avoid the drama of the march of the ants.  So I have assigned my little friends to pinpoint for me what I have left undone.

          My relationship with these little guys was getting more profound.  They were becoming my friends and companions.  How do they know there is one little crumb under my dining room table from way out in the backyard?  They must have a great sense of smell.  By now I am fascinated by these little fellas.  I didn’t want to get rid of them but wanted to understand them and began to do some research.

(To be continued)