Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: thedoc on 03/08/2013 09:30:01

Title: Can ants be used to de-flea clothing?
Post by: thedoc on 03/08/2013 09:30:01

Martin Kilgore  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
I just now remembered that back in the day people used to delouse their clothing by laying it on an ant hill. If they have appropriate ant species in england, that might be another way to remove fleas from a watch cap.


I seem to recall that people use driver ants in Africa for pest control in their houses.


What do you think?

Title: Re: Can ants be used to de-flea clothing?
Post by: chris on 12/07/2013 09:35:14

I've actually recently used ants to get rid of ants!

I had a red ant infestation in the bottom of one of my potted plants on my patio. By building their nest in the roots of my plant, the naughty ants were damaging a much-loved shrub.

So, I manoeuvred the pot over the top of a hole elsewhere on the patio where black ants were nesting.

The next day, hey-presto, a red ant morgue had been set up under pot, with piles of corpses! The black ants, luckily, also decided against moving in to the pot, so the problem appears to have been solved. How about that for an example of biological control!?

Chris

Title: Re: Can ants be used to de-flea clothing?
Post by: Don_1 on 23/07/2013 14:29:01

Many birds 'bath' in soil near to ant nests. The bird's fluttering annoys the ants which attack with squirts of formic acid. Though perhaps a tad uncomfortable for the bird, the formic acid rids the bird of unwanted passengers.