Funnel Ants coming under the walls.

[Cliff Rogers]

Anybody got any ideas how to stop funnel ants coming inside under the shed walls?

They cart about a ton of dirt a day with them & with all the moisture up here the bottom of the shed wall is going to rust out in no time.

[silentC]

Get yourself a big magnifying glass...

[Sturdee]

Remove the funnel.


Peter.

[Cliff Rogers]

Get yourself a big magnifying glass...

No good on a cloudy day.

Remove the funnel.


Peter.

Or the walls.

[woodsprite]

Make a big sign, but put it down very low.....

Sorry Mr. Rogers, I know that won't work - ants are illiterate.
Not knowinf for sure what funnel ants are, what with you being up there and me being down here, I might be a tad wrong here....
..but... we have large brownish ants that come out just at sunset and they scour the place for tucker. They love living under paving - well under MY paving anyway, and used to dig up bucket loads of my good paving sand and leave it in heaps around my verandah posts.

But then one day I spread some borax powder around all the holes I could see - and kept doing it. Dunno if it killed them, but they disappeared after about 10 days. Yeah, they come back eventually, but I think the ones that appear from the old nests are new ants that have hatched. Borax is cheap, so worth a shot.

The other trick I have used on black ants is pyrethrum spray, but not as effectively. Also, give Ant Rid a go - the blackies love it, the funnelers might go for it too.

If nothing works, move to an Island down near Antarctica...

[Cliff Rogers]

..Not knowinf for sure what funnel ants are, what with you being up there and me being down here, I might be a tad wrong here....
..but... we have large brownish ants that come out just at sunset and they scour the place for tucker. They love living under paving - well under MY paving anyway, and used to dig up bucket loads of my good paving sand and leave it in heaps around my verandah posts....

http://www.ento.csiro.au/science/ant...aenogaster.htm
http://www.ento.csiro.au/aicn/name_c/a_1641.htm

[woodsprite]

Sorry Cliff - your ants WON'T be able to read the signs, (neither do mine) but here is pic http://www.ento.csiro.au/Ecowatch/Pr.../sugar_ant.htm

of what we fondly know as sugar ants. Reckon they all react to borax though, despite their literacy probs. But then thinking on it, maybe you need a sign in braille, but ever-so small....

Good luck with them. The only reason I got a new shed/workshop was because the ants of the white variety thought it was a fast-food shop - and ate it in about 2 years. They are having trouble with the new all-steel model though.

Mind you , I get a good few bull-ants wondering through the shed at night, usually about 3 a night.
Jeff

[Pete J]

Funnelly enough, I don't.

[woodsprite]

Holeproof have actually been making pantz for antz for years

[Cliff Rogers]

... despite their literacy probs. But then thinking on it, maybe you need a sign in braille, but ever-so small.......

Did you know that the bumps with the reflectors on them that they put on the white lines on the road also double as braille for blind drivers?

[woodsprite]

Yes...that's the only way I can get from here into town! But there are a couple of stretches of road where they are missing and I have a spot of trouble. Thankfully the horns of the on-coming traffic keep me on my side of the the road until I find my lumps again....

[Ian Smith]

Cliff, from the deep Norf originally but never heard of Funnel Ants as such. Always thought they were just ordinary ants with a premonition that it was going to P**s down rain shortly so they were taking precautions against their nests being flooded.

You know why they use Cats Eyes on the roads don't you? Well, it's because if they used the other end they'd need twice as many cats (Hello Wongo)

Ian

[Felder]

Anybody got any ideas how to stop funnel ants coming inside under the shed walls?

Just give them a key and tell them to use the front door.

If nothing works, move to an Island down near Antarctica...

Moving to Tasmania is a bit drastic, isn't it? :eek:

[echnidna]

wot about pouring diesel around the edges of the shed.