>Damien asked about how I get rid of ants. I spray Raid along the
>crevice where the wall meets the floor. It stinks. Ants still come
>in when it rains. I read, I forget where, that ants will not cross
>a line of flour. I haven't tested that.
I would like to dissuade people from the use of anti-extropic
chemicals such as "Raid", while definitely worse for the ants,
there is increasing evidence that there use is not in our best
interests either.
I had a former girlfriend whose family was so anti-bug that they
regularly sprayed the outer window sills of their home with Raid,
funny how they were all severely allergic and had numerous
respiratory problems.....
Hmmm this might be a good time to start a thread on integrative
medicine, more on that later.
Back to the ants.
Ants normally infiltrate a home along an outer wall, as you
indicated they seem to remain there unless it rains. This would
tend to indicate the nest is outside. The best advice I could give
is on the next suuny day, caulk the crevice where the wall meets
the floor, then find the openings on the ground on the outside of
that wall and generously apply the contents of a well heated
teakettle (just plain boiling water). Works great.
Unless you manage to get the queen they will of course return.
If you live in a predominately wood structure you might want to try
and reach some kind of symbiosis, ants and termites are mortal
enemies, and the ants will not allow termites to establish
themselves.
I don't know about flour, but since both ant weaponry and
communication are based on acidic compounds as I recall, (formic
and acetic) I wonder what effect baking soda would have?
Brian
extropian
cypherpunk