Watch out for “Super Ant”
July 28th, 2006We have ants in our house, and I do not like ants because ants do not belong in the house. So far, we just kill them when we see them and toss them in the trash. Except for the cat; if she kills one she generally just leaves it on the floor for us to pick up. Normally she will ignore them, though.
The other day I went to step on an ant, but it was no longer there. It was about 2 feet in front of my foot. “Wow, that’s a speedy ant,” I think to myself. So, I went to step on it again. The ant must not have liked that idea, because it jumped away Incredible Hulk style. One leap, and it’s up on the counter, another leap, and its on the window screen, another leap and I lost sight of it. I had never seen anything crazier before that entire day.
I went to tell my fiancé about the Super Ant that had invaded our kitchen. She pointed out to me that it was just an ant with wings. That is so much less exciting. When I was cooking dinner, however, it was jumping around again and I was able to knock it into a pot full of dirty dish water. I have since seen a few more super ants running around my house, so I have to be careful to come at it from the front and top so that it has less of an opportunity to get away.
I really need to find a way to stop the ants coming into the house. I realize that if I just wait a few more months that the problem will take care of itself (as I do live in Maine) but I’d rather they were gone while it is still warm instead of waiting for snow.
July 30th, 2006 at 1:25 am
Is this a confirmed “super ant”? When we had critters jumping in our house, it turned out to be a flea. I’ve also heard of “ants with wings” as being termites.
My husband will find the source of entrance for these ants and place several drops of Terro there.(http://www.terro.com/) The ants will swarm to this stuff. Apparently, they take it back to their nest and kill the queen. Then, voila, your ant problem is solved.
July 30th, 2006 at 11:03 am
It was definately an ant with wings. It looked exactly the same as the hard-bodied black ants that are infesting our house except for the wings. I just wasn’t expecting it to jump and fly when I first spotted it so it made a big impression on me.
Thanks for the link to Terro; I heard about something similar on the radio but didn’t get the brand name. I will have to look into that. I like that the Borax isn’t toxic to animals, in case my cat gets into it. I do not want to put anything inside, and the ants probably will not carry it in with them, but just in case…