Attack of the "Crazy Ants"! They destroy electronics...??

Video is worth watching!

'Crazy ants' that feast on electronics and are invading the U.S.CANNOT be killed with normal insecticide
Since it was first spotted in Houston in 2002, it's spread to some 21 counties in Texas, 20 counties in Florida and a few locations in Mississippi and Louisiana
The omnivorous ant attacks and kills other species as well as monopolizing food sources to the detriment of the entire ecosystem
It also attacks electrical wiring, causing millions of dollars worth of damage
By JESSICA MONTOYA COGGINS and DAILY MAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 13:48 EST, 9 June 2013 | UPDATED: 11:06 EST, 10 June 2013


A new and annoying species of ant is terrorizing the U.S. and chemicals that kill off other types of the insect are proving ineffective against it.
The 'crazy' ant, named for the erratic trail it leaves as it makes its way across the country, originated in Argentina and Brazil.
But since it was first spotted in Houston in 2002, it has spread to some 21 counties in Texas, 20 counties in Florida and a few locations in Mississippi and Louisiana.


The biggest factor to the spread of 'crazy' ants has been transportation via humans

Rise of the Crazy Ants

University of Texas researcher and co-author of a study on the creatures Ed LeBrun said the omnivorous ants attack and kill other species as well as monopolizing food sources to the detriment of the entire ecosystem.
He said everything from cattle to songbirds are at risk of the tiny ants, despite them being at the bottom of the food chain.

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According to ABC News, the chemicals that kill the more common red ant aren't effective on crazy ants so residents should call pest control if they find an infestation in their home.
And hopefully they'll get there before the critters attack their computer.
The insects, bizarrely, are attracted to electrical wiring and components and in one year alone caused $146.5 million in damages in Texas, ABC reported.
The devastation occurs when one ant discovers the transformer then gets electrocuted when it touches it, and 'waves its abdomen in the air' omitting a certain scent.
The scent lures for ants to the scene and they too are electrocuted, again sending the scent into the air to attract their friends.
Eventually, there are so many dead ants that the electric switches get stuck or the insulation fries and the system shuts down.

Terrors: University of Texas researcher Ed LeBrun said the omnivorous ant, pictured, attacks and kills other species as well as monopolising food sources to the detriment of the entire ecosystem
But LeBrun said the biggest problem of the ant's invasion is that it has completely eliminated the red ant, or fire ant. And no one knows why.
'Perhaps the biggest deal is the displacement of the fire ant,' LeBrun said, according to ABC. 'The whole ecosystem has changed around fire ants. Things that can't tolerate fire ants are gone. Many that can have flourished.
'New things have come in. Now we are going to go through and whack the fire ants and put something in its place that has a very different biology. There are going to be a lot of changes that come from that.'
The crazy ants are most commonly found in coastal areas with warmer temperatures. Known scientifically as 'Nylanderia fulva,' they are also referred to as 'rasberry' after the exterminator Tom Rasberry who discovered them in Houston in 2002.
The 'crazy' ants do not have such a painful sting as their insect counterparts, but they are still a nuisance for homeowners.
'Crazy' ants have been identified all the way from Texas to Mississippi. Researchers believe that the ants cannot survive in regions that are dry or cold.
Unlike fire ants, crazy ants also do not spread as quickly. They can only advance approximately 200 meters per year on their own.
The biggest factor in their spread along the Southeast has been human transportation.
LeBrun urges caution for residents in areas with known 'crazy' ant populations to be mindful when they are traveling.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2338502/Crazy-ants-terrorizing-parts-U-S-resistant-chemicals-kill-species.html#ixzz2VqldpPfc

I wonder if they have gotten to my yard? We haven't noticed any ant problems but I haven't seen but a couple fire ants in two years. Which is really odd, considering I don't use pesticides.

For those of you with Fire ants in sensitive places where you don't want to use a pesticide, like a pond or around critters. I have a trick!
fill a clay pot or anything with a hole in the botton with dirt and set it ontop of the mound, then water around the pot, not in it! Keep the hill soaking wet for a few days and the Fireants will move their whole colony up into the pot and then you can throw them into a firepit or a trash bag or whatever. But this really works! Be careful when you pick up the pot, wear gloves because they will swarm you.

This is more fun. Mix potassium nitrate and sugar together, spread around the nest and the ants carry it deep into the nest. On ant doomsday pour as much sodium nitrate as you can into the nest, shove a lit sparkler or road flare into the hole and watch the fun begin.

Sodium or potassium nitrate are strong oxidizers. They make oxygen when heated. The sugar is the fuel (and ant attractant). Sugar is carbon, hydrogen, oxygen (C6-H12-O6).

researcher wrote:

This is more fun. Mix potassium nitrate and sugar together, spread around the nest and the ants carry it deep into the nest. On ant doomsday pour as much sodium nitrate as you can into the nest, shove a lit sparkler or road flare into the hole and watch the fun begin.

Sodium or potassium nitrate are strong oxidizers. They make oxygen when heated. The sugar is the fuel (and ant attractant). Sugar is carbon, hydrogen, oxygen (C6-H12-O6).

Hey birthday boy isn't sodium nitrate better known as "saltpeter"? I'm just askin'.....

From Wikipedia:

Quote :

Potassium nitrate is one of several nitrogen-containing compounds collectively referred to as saltpeter. Major uses of potassium nitrate are in fertilizers, food additive, rocket propellants and fireworks; it is one of the constituents of gunpowder.

Sodium nitrate will work in a pinch for gunpowder too. I know cause I did it back in the early 1970's.

Any flammable aerosol when used properly in careful combination with an incendiary device will dispose of insects of all sizes 100% of the time.

I'm still not convinced that DDT was actually harmful to anyone but the corporations not holding the patents for said insecticide.

Nice! An ant killin' thread!

DE  Diatomaceous earth is also great for this, though slower and not NEARLY as spectacular as researcher's method.
But there's a very simple way to kill the nest...maybe somebody here already said it...but @5-10 gallons of boiling water will do the trick, too.
Both methods I have described are organic methods in case that are in your garden and you don't want to pollute your crops...

Hot water does work but you have to douse the nest a couple of times to get the ants that are foraging.
Personally, I don't like to kill them, but I have. I've been grabbed and stung by at least 40 in the last 13 years. I hate fire ant stings, they get pus filled and hurt for a week, leave scars.... But I usually gather them in a pot and take them out to the fence row, Soak the pot a couple of times and they move out.
 
If you happen to get grabbed and stung, rub some basil on it for a half an hour and the sting will fade without all the pain and scarring.

We have the "large" carpenter ants here, one latched onto my dog the other day and I thought she was bitten by a snake or broke something...it was still dug into her paw...poor girl.

JEW wrote:

Nice! An ant killin' thread!

DE  Diatomaceous earth is also great for this, though slower and not NEARLY as spectacular as researcher's method.
But there's a very simple way to kill the nest...maybe somebody here already said it...but @5-10 gallons of boiling water will do the trick, too.
Both methods I have described are organic methods in case that are in your garden and you don't want to pollute your crops...

I have a huge bag of DE to kill them. Slow and boring though, but a good point its harmless to anything other than an insect. Dries them out & cuts them up I was told. "AXIS" is the mining company if you're interested lol.