Latest news with #ants
The Sun
28-05-2025
- General
- The Sun
Two cheap products just 70p in total can repel pests including ants from your home and garden this summer
AS the hot weather approaches, homes across the country will be trying different tips and tricks to keep insects at bay. But you don't need to spend a fortune on posh products, in fact, this 70p hack is all you need. 3 3 3 As temperatures rise, most pests are on the search for a tasty snack - with countertop food, waste and even spillages making for a tasty treat. Ants are no different and alarmingly, they can lay up to 800 eggs a day once they are in your home. And since these insects love anything sweet, even the smallest of spills in your kitchen can attract them. While wiping up your countertops and storing leftovers properly is essential, there's an extra step you can take. But instead of reaching for some ant killer, there are kinder options that will simply deter them from your home, rather than killing them. With this in mind, cleaning pro Chantel Mila, who posts under the handle @mama_mila_ on TikTok shared her method for deterring ants. Chantel said: "Say goodbye to ants in your kitchen, this mix is a must-have to keep ants away, and it doubles as a great multipurpose cleaner." Chantel suggested creating an all-natural spray combining lemon peel with white vinegar and allowing it to infuse for two weeks. After two weeks, she explained you should combine the mixture with equal parts water in a spray bottle. Chantel then said: "This powerful mix can be used on cracks to deter ants, due to the D-limonene in the lemon peels." Nature's Defenses: Organic Solutions to Garden Pest Problems She explained that the ants are also not fans of the scent of white vinegar. And that the concoction is not only good for deterring ants from your home, but it can also double as a great multi-purpose cleaner. With a costing as little as 99p in Aldi, and white vinegar at only 35p in Sainsbury's - this is an easy way to prevent pests without using harsh chemicals. Chantel's followers were quick to comment on the video, with one joking: "Couldn't wait two weeks, burned down my house!" Keep pests out all summer Hornets and wasps - hate the smell of peppermint oil so spraying this liberally around your patio or balcony can help to keep them at bay. Moths - acidic household white vinegar is effective for deterring moths. Soak some kitchen roll in vinegar and leave it in your wardrobe as a deterrent. Flying ants - herbs and spices, such as cinnamon, mint, chilli pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cloves, or garlic act as deterrents. Mosquitoes - plants, herbs and essential oil fragrances can help deter mossies inside and out. Try eucalyptus, lavender and lemongrass. While another said: "Need a solution ASAP, these ants are irritating me, I'm constantly cleaning but don't know why they keep coming back." One fan simply said: "Love how simple this is." Meanwhile, a cheap 6p item from Home Bargains creates a 'relaxing' atmosphere in your garden as well as repelling insects. You can also use soap and tights to repel flies from your home this summer. A budget-friendly hack can also help to banish slugs and snails from your garden. You can also use a £1.40 household item to deter ants from entering your home. Plus Lidl is selling a £9 garden gizmo in stores that will keep insects away when entertaining outside this summer. And finally, a 49p hack helps to keep wasps from your garden, but you'll want to act soon.
New York Times
27-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
Ask Wirecutter: I'm So Grossed Out by Ants Invading My Home! Can You Help?
Ants are omnivores, and they primarily like sugar, protein, and oil. 'Every kind of thing that we all have in the kitchen, right? Drinks, pastry, cooking oil, and pet food has a lot of oil and protein,' said Changlu Wang, PhD, an extension specialist in entomology at Rutgers University, in a video interview. Now, I know I said that ants don't pose an immediate health threat to most people in most situations, but that doesn't mean you want to be sharing a sugar bowl with the little guys. Every open container of food is at risk and must be sealed up. The Rubbermaid Brilliance Pantry Food Storage Containers, a top pick in our guide to dry food storage containers, have successfully helped Wirecutter staff members curb kitchen-bug problems. Although we truly love them, we also understand that they can be pricey, and it adds up when literally every food item you have needs to go inside them. 'I didn't have the money for the Rubbermaid containers during my pest nightmare, so I bulk-bought some cheapo ones, and they worked just fine,' says writer Abigail Bailey. 'Though I'd still recommend the Rubbermaid, since we've specifically tested them for bugs.' Anything with a firm seal should work — zip-top bags are also great in a pinch. Feel free to stick any food that can go in the fridge that you don't normally put there (sugar, flour) into the fridge for the duration of your ant issue, as that may give it an additional layer of protection. Also, keep your pet food sealed in a container, and if your animal has a tendency to leave some bites behind in their bowl, seal it up for later or throw it away. If you leave it out, all you're doing is luring those scout ants into your lair. Your goal is to stop them from telling all their friends about the cool all-they-can-eat buffet in your kitchen. Uphill sugar skiing is a competitive ant sport (we assume). Dana Davis/NYT Wirecutter and Connie Park/NYT Wirecutter
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Aussies urged to try $2 supermarket hack to rid common pest from home: 'It's worth a try'
Aussie homes are no stranger to a pest or two, and one resident who has been recently wrestling with an army of ants in her home claims she has a "very easy and simple" hack to rid them once and for all. She claims the answer lies in cloves, holding up a $2 packet of the spice from Coles in a video shared online. The resident said a sprinkling of the spice near the ants is all it takes to send them packing. "If you have ants, what you want to do is get whole cloves and you want to put them along the ant trail and that is it, it will get rid of them. I've tried this one time and I have not had ants in my house since," the resident said, adding that she recommended it to a friend and it worked with her too. 😲 Homeowners warned after tradie called in to investigate destructive find in roof 🪹 Aussies urged to make 'critical' backyard change to combat national crisis 🔥 Winter warning to Aussie residents after surprising discovery in fireplace Eduardo Garcia from Toro Pest Control told Yahoo News he's been inundated with calls from Aussies recently and said he wasn't surprised people were turning to natural remedies in a desperate attempt to rid their homes of ants. However, he reckons there are other, more efficient methods to try. "Getting a spray bottle with water and vinegar with peppermint oil would help more than cloves," he told Yahoo News. "Or people often use baby powder. Campers often sprinkle it around their caravan or tent as it neutralises the ants' ability to communicate because they communicate through pheromones... They get lost and veer off and then just move onto the next area where they can communicate." While natural remedies can be beneficial, fellow industry expert Warren Bailey from ABC Pest Control suggested steering clear of them altogether as they're not often effective long-term. "It's worth a try but often with ants, they get immune to it very quickly. You can try it once and it works then you go to use it again and they've built up resistance," he told Yahoo. "People can get lucky with natural remedies but we usually have to come back with something stronger." While many of us think about the heat encouraging pests into our homes, high rainfall can do the same, Eduardo explained. "Pests are coming out at the moment with all the rain. The water is saturating their workings in the mud and they get destroyed easily so they come out of the ground. Obviously our properties are nice and sturdy, so they go in for food, shelter and water," he said. To reduce the likelihood of ants coming into your home, it's recommended to block entry points such as weep holes or visible gaps in the walls and floor to stop ants from entering. Keeping indoors clean and crumb-free is also vital. However, the best to avoid pests getting inside your home is to call a professional. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
ABC News
17-05-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Secret life of Australia's ants, the hardest workers in any backyard
They are builders, miners, carpenters and farmers. And despite a mostly undeserved reputation for being a stinging pest, Australian ants do an extraordinary amount of environmental heavy lifting. While several high-profile invasive ant species — such as the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) from South America and the yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) from Asia — have caused alarm due to the threat they pose to domestic agriculture and the environment, their native counterparts have quietly continued their vital, often unheralded, work. Museums Victoria Research Institute curator of entomology Ken Walker describes a large ant colony as a "super organism" that plays an essential role in both suburban gardens and the wild. "Ants belong to a group of insects described as 'eusocial', in that they have a large community and it's all being directed by one individual or queen," Dr Walker explained. "They act like a single unit, so they're called 'super organisms' and they can do a lot of powerful work. "One of the great things about ants is they dig holes in the ground, and that aerates the soil and allows water to go in. "They also bring a lot of plant material and seeds underground, which fertilises the soil." Of the world's 15,000 ant species, at least 1,500 are found in Australia. By comparison, the United States has 829 species, South Africa has about 550, Great Britain has fewer than 100 species, and New Zealand has about 40. A Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences international study estimates the world's ant population at about 20 quadrillion (20,000 trillion). Scientists conservatively estimate there are 2.5 million ants for every person in the world. Ants have been part of the Australian landscape for an estimated 58 million years. During that time, they have established unusual relationships with other native flora and fauna, according to Dr Walker. "They interact with many other insects in what are called symbiotic relationships," he said. "There are many Australian insects, particularly butterflies, that would not survive without ants. "In a process called myrmecochory, the female Eltham copper butterfly, for example, lays her eggs on a plant called sweet bursaria (Bursaria spinosa). If the egg was to stay there by itself, it wouldn't survive. "The ants come up, collect the butterfly egg and take it down into their burrow. When the caterpillar emerges from the egg, the ants protect it and, at night, carry the caterpillar up to feed on the leaves. "In return, the ants tap the caterpillar with their antennae and the caterpillar releases honeydew, which is a sweet substance the caterpillar excretes. The caterpillar gets protection, and the ant gets a source of food." Due to their tiny brains, the intelligence of ants was often underestimated, Dr Walker said. Ants are born with innate knowledge to do their job, but Dr Walker said there was evidence that they observed and learned from other ants to improve their efficiency. Individual ants were also capable of remarkably complex acts of navigation and communication. Dr Walker explained ant "scouts" use the sun's position in the sky to explore new territory and then find their way back to the nest. "On the top of their head, each ant has three little eyes called ocelli. They use UV to know the direction the sun is," he said. "Let's say, for example, the sun is on the right side when they go out, they know then to turn around to have the sun on their left side when they come back. "Another interesting fact about ants is the communication … a lot of ants live underground, so they can't use visual cues, so they have to use chemical cues. "They use a thing called trophallaxis, which can be literally defined as a kiss. Where two individuals come together, they 'kiss' or exchange a bit of fluid. In that fluid are lots of messages. "Because each ant is kissing other ants, there's an accumulation of all the messages from the colony. Every time this kiss happens, it is gathering information of the colony. While 1,500 ant species have been formally described in Australia, many Australian ant species are yet to be classified. Dr Walker estimated the number could be as high as 6,000. Ant queens, males and workers often vary considerably in size and appearance, even within the same species. These are 10 of the most commonly found worker ants in Australian backyards and landscapes: This tiny (2-3mm) native variety is often found indoors, infesting kitchen benches while trying to get scraps of leftover food. Superficially similar in size (2.5-3mm) and appearance to Technomyrmex but, viewed up close, has a more obvious waist and tends to be shorter and stockier. Also called black tyrant ants or black trail ants because they form long trails as they forage for food. Workers grow up to 5mm in length. They do not have a stinger. Perhaps Australia's most recognisable ant, growing to about 6-7mm, and featuring a dark red to purple head and blue-black body. Capable of producing huge, interconnected nests with populations up to 300,000. Very important for the environment, a meat ant nest can disperse hundreds of thousands of plant seeds while also cleaning up dead animals and controlling pests. Also known as the banded sugar ant or carpenter ant. This familiar, relatively large (5-15mm) ant is often seen at night. These orange to black ants do not sting but some can bite with their large mandibles and spray wounds with formic acid from their rear. Despite being active at different times of the day, sugar ants and meat ants are competitive and will plug each other's nest holes with debris. A type of carpenter ant that produces and stores its own honey. Half the workers are 5-8mm long and black, while half develop into "repletes" which swell up 17mm in length to store and distribute honey to the rest of the hive. The Australian weaver ant is mostly orange with a green abdomen (O. smaragdina) and grows to 5-10mm. They live in trees building nests made of leaves stitched together using silk. Does not have a stinger but will bite if their nest is disturbed and spray the wound with formic acid. Also known as the big-headed ant. There are two worker "castes", with the larger (3.5-4.5mm) ants having an oversized head and jaws, which they use to crush seeds. The smaller (2-3mm) more numerous workers transport food back to the nest. Has a distinctive metallic green colouring, with workers measuring 5-7mm in length. It is more common in Queensland, southern NSW and South Australia, but is found in all mainland states and territories. Has a painful sting. Some varieties are also known as inchman ants because of their length (about an inch or 25mm), or bulldog ants. Aggressive, with large jaws (mandibles) and a sting at the end of their abdomen. It is the sting, rather than the mandibles, that delivers its painful attack. Bull ants are most common in Tasmania and south-eastern mainland Australia. They have a characteristic jumping action that can propel them up to 10cm. Generally smaller (12-14mm) than other bull ants, the Jack jumper ant has an extremely painful sting and can be dangerous and potentially fatal to those at risk of anaphylactic shock.
The Verge
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Why on Earth would ants pick a speaker, of all things, to nest in?
I recently came home from a week-long vacation to discover that a colony of ants had taken up residence inside my Sonos Play:1. It was shocking and gross, but I also got weirdly fascinated by the whole situation. My curiosity led me to some hilarious Sonos user forums, a pile of theories involving speaker grills and magnetic fields, and a conversation with an entomologist. You can listen to the whole creepy crawly story on this week's Vergecast. Please enjoy, and/or I'm sorry.
