Just how strong are common house ants?

[aemeijers]

Gettin' scared here. I had a wee problem with ants infesting kitchen- I'm a slob, and house is far from tight. So, along with cleaning up the counters and crumbs on floor, a day or so ago I put out 4 of the typical cheap bait stations. Got home from work today, and 3 had been moved a little, but the 4th was outright GONE. I looked all over for it- under appliances, etc.

Is this typical? Or do I have some uber-ants hiding in the walls?

(Note- not really a Google poster- my real ISP is having news server problems.)

[e-mail]

[Eigenvector]

They're pretty strong, not strong enough to pick up an ant trap alone, but some ants do work as a team. Maybe they found your trap to be particularly delicious and decided to carry it back to the nest?

[aemeijers]

Yeah, but unless the nest is up inside the fridge or stove insulation, I'm clueless where that nest would be. I looked under both with maglite and inspection mirror. Don't think I have mice, never seen any traces since I ran off the ones that moved in while house was empty. Anybody sell double-sided duct tape to nail the traps down? How about just strips of duct tape across the floor? Or do ants step too lightly to stick to that?

aem sends....

[Oren]

Oh boy! Me and my ant buddies just got a fresh trap. The dang thing; big as it is, will not fit into my nest and I don't share.

-- Oren

..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..

[Paul Franklin]

Ummmm, maybe you've got bigger vermin than ants....seen any mouse droppings around? Might want to try a mouse trap, baited with peanut butter.

[Eigenvector]

That was supposed to sound a little tongue and cheek.

I bet if you laid down duct tape that an ant would walk right over it like Jesus Christ. I think Paul Franklin's right, you got bigger vermin.

[Lar]

Not ants ...mouse, rat or a another person moved it.

Lar

[aemeijers]

I live alone, and as best as I can tell, no mice or rats. (no droppings, no gnawed food containers, no nesting residue or little corpses in storage areas, etc.) Been there before in previous dwellings, the signs are pretty glaring when they are present. I checked entire house, thinking I might have kicked it when getting a midnight glass of water- not a trace.

aem sends...

[mm]

If you leave another one out, and can tape it, it will be a big hit on funniest home videos and better places than that.

[mm]

No, I think you should bait the mouse trap with an ant trap.

[Marina]

"aemeijers" wrote in news:j6b0i.117740$ [e-mail]:

ewwwwww, that's creepy!

[longshot]

put up a camera while you sleep

[GROVER]

An elephant can lift only 1/20 th of his weight while an ant can lift

6 times his weight. Yet an ant can not lift an elephant. Joe G

[SJF]

If it happened at my house, it would be a case of aging memory and would show up in a few days where I miscarried it.

SJF

[dave]

It's an act of God. Therefore it wont be covered by your homeowners insurance. God was probably really hungry and liked the taste of the ant poison. If God is found dead today, it's all your fault.

[Kyle]

On May 8, 11:20 pm, "aemeijers" wrote: [snip]

[snip]

Something other than ants moved it. I'd suggest putting down another bait unit in exactly the same spot, and scatter a light dusting of flour around it. If it moves, you'll see tell-tale traces of how it moved.

That, or put lipstick on it. (Oh, never mind, that's for figuring out about cats' butts on kitchen counters...)

[Oren]

With flour they might "cake" up stuff! Use grits or corn meal; not nearly as heavy as a trap, and you watch them carry if off.

And your experience is? Lipstick on a pig can be more attractive than a pig without lipstick.

-- Oren

..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..