Ants... lots of little black ants. Is there really a need to wipe them out?

[Chippin Away]

I have lots of the little black ants running pretty much everywhere in and around my house (up the outside wall and into the attic mostly). They've also taken up residence in passion fruit vines that are climbing some of the patio poles. Is there a real worry of them doing damage to the house, emphasis on real.

[artme]

No!

[FenceFurniture]

No!

+1

It doesn't even bother me too much if they are in the house - they're cleaners, not messers.

[corbs]

Dad told me that when they're on the move it means rains coming. Usually proves to be the case too

[BobL]

Around our way black ants are a good sign as they keep the white ants out.
The only ones that really gave me the sheets were those that set up home inside the LED display of our oven. The next time we used the oven they all died and
the smell was most unpleasant but it only lasted a few days. The problem was their remains gummied up the inside of the display making it difficult to read the display.

[AlexS]

Dad told me that when they're on the move it means rains coming. Usually proves to be the case too

There's a scientific basis for that. A number of insects are sensitive to humidity and migrate with the right combination of temperature and high RH, which equates to rain in some climates.

[Bushmiller]

I have to confess I use dead ant or ant rid aginst ants inside the house, but outside it's live and let live. In the past I have taken perverse and, I suppose you could say, sadistic delight in placing a termite infested piece of timber across the trail of the one of the more millitant ant speices.

I have watched the ants pulling the termites bodily from their escape holes. They are very intolerant of trespassers.

Regards
Paul

[Chippin Away]

Good to know. thx everyone. I tend to leave everything alone as long as damage is remote. I have noticed the ants are on the move with their eggs, they're poring out of the attack and down the walls. I suspect the intense heat up there has made them re-evaluate their living arrangements.

[pmcgee]

Like Paul said ... these guys are the best!

They cleared off this piece of jarrah-like timber in less than 5 minutes. As is pretty usual around here, the termites were *on* the timber rather than *in* it. But even when they have burrowed into a piece, they will dive in and drag out ever last one of the b*st*ards. It's great to watch.

These ones are pre-soaked. When I find them I give 'em some boiling water before i move the piece to the ant's nest.
I think they like it.


Paul
(easily amused)

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[Fuzzie]

I have been cleaning up old bearers in the shed and was sitting in the think chair at the back of the garage on Sunday when I felt a small sting on my leg (inside long jeans) absently scratched it and a little while later felt it again. Eventually looked for the source of the splinter doing the pricking and found ants on my leg. There was a trail of the little blighters running down the driveway and through to the back of the garage! Nothing there for them that I know of other than me. It's on the ground floor of double brick house.

We have had a plague of these little black ants for a couple of months and they have been mostly heading for the kitchen or the dirty clothes basket (don't ask!). Anyway out came the Antrid which has a 50/50 track record of being palatable to these ants. These guys quite liked it and took a quarter of a bottle worth back to their nest. Haven't seen anymore since Sunday night.

We also have various coastal green and spiny ants around the place, but they pretty much keep to themselves other than the spinyies who like to hollow the rot out of old joists and set up camp there.

[RETIRED]

That'll learn ya for sitting still for so long.

[Fuzzie]

That'll learn ya for sitting still for so long.

Nah, the problem was not sitting around enough. It's so humid up here and I'd been working too hard so I'd left a trail of sweat on the ground and it was also running down my legs. That's what they followed and were after.