A number of people have now provided comment about ant control,
including the following comment:
 
>>Do you really want to be pouring gasoline and diesel fuel into the ground
>>to kill ants?  You know that you will end up drinking the gas one of
>>these days don't you?  It is even less logical to ignite the fuel, as
>>there is insuficient oxygen in the ground to burn, all you get is a nice
>>visible flame, but you do reverse some of the damage you have done.  if
>>you want to pour something in the ground use boiling water.  It will kill
>>the ants and not harm the ground water.
 
   Actually, soapy water does just fine, with about a quarter cup of
kitchen detergent in a half a bucket of water.
 
   And John E. Taylor III wrote:
 
>You're right, of course.  The hydrocarbons do neither the air nor the
>groundwater any good at all.  But oh, what a lovely job a half cup of
>gasoline does on an ant or yellow jacket nest!
 
   I have used the soapy water treatment on both ants and yellow jackets.
One can also use a tablespoon full of detergent mixed into a spray bottle
full of water and set on stream for target practice.  A direct hit on a
yellow jacket results in its death within a minute or so.
 
*****
 
   To keep ants out of houses, one can use a chemical treatment very
sparingly in a way that does not pollute the environment.  The rationale is
as follows:
 
   Often an ant colony in some ways represents a giant amoeba, with its
trails similar to the amoeboid pseudopods.  By blocking the trails where
they enter houses or where they go up trees, one can divert the colony's
attention elsewhere.
 
   To do that, one can follow EPA guidelines and distribute a great amount
of poison around the house and garden, thereby polluting the environment
greatly and by inadvertently killing many beneficial insects.  A far more
simple treatment, one not approved by the EPA, will suffice and result in
virtually no environmental contamination.  A description of that technique
follows.
 
1)  Purchase a small bottle of Diazinon PLUS Insect Spray (ORTHO, Chevron
Chemical Co.) from drug or grocery store.  Buy also a medicine dropper,
preferably one that comes with a dropper bottle.
 
2)  Save up friction top caps from gallon milk bottles or Kodak film
cannisters (photo processing centers usually provide them free).  These
serve as dishes.
 
3)  Find where the ant trail enters the house or starts up a plant.  Using
the lid or cap as a dish, place into it 5-6 drops of the undiluted liquid
poison.
 
   Within an hour dead ants should be seen on the surface near the dish,
and within a couple of hours the ant trail will no longer exist.  The
detergent breaks down in the open air wihin a day --- save and wash
"dishes" in detergent water for re-use.
 
                                                        Adrian
 
 
 
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* Adrian Wenner        E-Mail   [log in to unmask]  *
* Dept.Ecol.,Evol.,& Mar.Biol. Office Phone    (805) 893-2838 *
* University of California     Lab Phone       (805) 893-2675 *
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*                                   Ludwik Fleck, 1935 [1979] *
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