Ants! - 1,000,000,000,000,000 Invaders!
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Article by: Fred Davis Imagine! One quadrillion tiny (and some not so tiny!) insects--foraging...rampaging...looking for virtually anything that might be eaten or, in some cases, conquered. Striding purposely along in endless lines, ants wend their way across our yards, , Soil Erosion Control up the walls, , Understanding Weeds - But mostly How to Kill 'em through almost invisible cracks and crevices...pouring out of what seems an impossible nowhere...into our kitchens , Introduction to Botany and pantries. First come just a few. Scouts who return to the nest with good news of dirty dishes, crumbs behind the stove, garbage cans filled to overflowing and cat munchies spilled down a floor , The History of the Gnome register. A force rivaling the invading hordes of Genghis Kahn immediately mobilizes and marches--bent on stocking their collective larder against the promise of another long winter. , The History of the Gnome Ants! It seems that all quadrillion of them on Earth , Tulip Trees - The King of the Magnolias at any one time routinely turn up in our gardens , How to Choose a Snow Blower for Your and kitchens. , Designing an Edible Garden ..overnight...without warning. And are they tough! In some cases, they can even be beneficial. Always a fascinating social structure. Second only to cockroaches in tenacity, and rivaling the wily coyote in cunning, ants have adapted quite nicely to the human lifestyle and are the most social insect on our planet. , Care of Dendrobium Orchids Yet, while they may be a nuisance in the home, , and Garden Decor Needs even these pestiferous rascals can often be beneficial in the garden. , Color in the Most species--and there are probably 14,000 in all--are omnivorous...they eat virtually anything organic. , Summer Gardening Tips That includes practically any other insect (except aphids--more about their relationship with aphids later) including cutworms, grubs, fleas, bedbugs, and flies. They'll even attack and drag away moths, mosquitoes and black flies. Additionally, they recycle decaying animal and vegetable , Home and Garden Decor Needs material, and certain types aerate the soil , Herbal Medicine Chest in Your Backyard with their deep networks of tunnels. Stories abound relating the horrors of people being attacked and all but devoured by swarms of marauding ants. True, a few species can inflict a nasty and painful sting (injecting a type of formaldehyde). Quite a few others will respond to threat upon their lives or security , Everything You need to Know to Set up Your Square Foot Garden by clamping down on the nearest patch of flesh with powerful, needle-sharp jaws. But, while a serious threat outdoors, , Growing Tomatoes – A Hobby for Everyone that type rarely finds its way into the home , Japanese Gardens – Basic Design Questions That Should Be Addressed and, if left alone in the garden, , Designing an Edible would quickly flee from an occasional encounter with a 160+ pound gardener wielding a hoe or trowel. Ants do, however, have a more "devilish" side. They will protect and nurture certain types of aphids. An aphid is actually little more than a very small processing unit that converts plant , Lanscaping - Planning Your Next Project juices (sap) into a sweet nectar-like solution that it stores in its bulging little body. Ants have learned that by stroking an aphid's abdomen, they are rewarded with a droplet of "honey-dew" from tiny tube-like projections on its posterior. Remarkably, with the arrival of the frosts of fall, , Teak Furniture - The Proper Way to Care For & Clean It ants will actually carry some of their aphid-partners into their subterranean homes , Sampler of Rare Fruits for Fun or Profit where they are kept alive over winter, , The Cure for Common Pool Stains later to be returned to the upper parts of plants , Landscape Fabric - Is Landscape Fabric Even Necessary In Landscaping? the following spring. , New for 2006 - Granite Flexible Preformed Rock Ponds A number of larger insects, birds, , Giving Seeds What They Need In Storage small snakes and mammals prey upon ants so they only rarely become a serious problem in the outdoors. , Herbal Medicine Chest in Your Backyard Occasionally, however, a nest turns up in the wrong place , Buying or Building Your Own Water Fountain and must be dealt with. Resist the natural , Soil Erosion Control urge to become hysterical. Ants can very easily be encouraged to move to a different spot. Remember that they're where they are because conditions are favorable and food , Gardening Sentiments plentiful. If you make their living conditions unpleasant, more often than not they'll pack up their eggs and pupae and march off to find a new home. , A Look at Planting Flower Bulbs Water--lots of it--is the answer. Just follow the trail of workers to the nest opening and then pour in plenty of water , Everything You need to Know to Set up Your Square Foot Garden to which a little dishwashing liquid has been added. Should that fail, a brew of blenderized tansy (a perennial herb , Landscaping Ideas and Landscaping Design with a pungent odor) in water , Care of Dendrobium Orchids should do the trick. They can't stand the smell of the stuff! Be watchful though. They may move in the wrong direction and end up in Junior's sand , Landscaping Ideas and Landscaping Design box, or worse: the basement. , 10 Landscaping Design Ideas To Enhance Your Home Garden I prefer to avoid the use of toxic chemistry in the control or management of ants. Finally, ants can become most interesting pets, living upwards of six years for workers and as long as 12 years for the queen. Many a youngster has spent long and profitable hours observing the social behavior of these fascinating little creatures. Perhaps the simplest and least expensive formicarium is a jar of soil , Planting Tomatoes in Your Garden placed in a shallow tray of water , Growing Tomatoes – A Hobby for Everyone or covered with fine gauze. Start with a queen (they're the larger ones with wings) and she'll produce her own ladies-in-waiting and workers. Feed with small scraps of meat, fruit , A Rose is a Rose? or sugar and supply moisture , Landscape Fabric - Is Landscape Fabric Even Necessary In Landscaping? by wetting a small sponge with water. , Buying or Building Your Own Fountain Just be careful not to overdo the food , Volumetric Concrete Mixer and water. , Home and Garden Decor Needs ..the little fellows can only eat and drink so much. It all sounds suspiciously Hitchcockian doesn't it!Fred Davis is a Master Gardener, Master Composter, , Landscape Problems - Things To Look Out For lecturer, and long-time nurseryman. He and his wife, Linda, own and operate a popular perennial , Blower Fans nursery in Palermo, Maine, and maintain a no-frills gardening , Herbal Medicine Chest in Your Backyard information website where you will find answers to your gardening , Planting Tomatoes in Your Garden questions, at: http://www.HillGardens.com/ |
  
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