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Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degroot org> wrote:
> On 23-6-2016 6:20, Alain wrote:
> >> On 21-6-2016 17:29, Anthony D. Baye wrote:
> >>> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> >>>> Talking of ants, I am in the middle of a grim human-against-ants
> >>>> campaign. Not sure who is going to win at this stage. My forces have
> >>>> had
> >>>> to retreat a couple of yards for lack of ammunition, and major
> >>>> regrouping - on both sides - is under way.
> >>>>
> >>> Assuming you're being literal, I've found a pretty good solution to ant
> >>> infestations, if you like oranges.
> >>>
> >>> Grind up the orange peels and scatter them on the ground around the
> >>> anthill: It
> >>> kills off the fungus that the ants feed on.
> >>>
> >>
> >> As usual, I was grossly exaggerating but the ants need constant
> >> vigilance in some parts of the garden. Oranges: good idea! Thank you, I
> >> shall add them to the ordnance ;-)
> >>
> >
> > Give then corn starch. They love it but can't digest it at all and it
> > end up clogging their digestive thact.
> > For ants, eating corn starch is like us eating plaster of cement powder
> > in large quantity, but tastier.
>
> Great! This is becoming nicely grisly. Maybe I should turn this into an
> image with metal ants eating/drinking something corrosive. Thanks for
> the info!
>
> --
> Thomas
My solution was more about driving them away than killing them. I'm not a PETA
adherent by any means, unless you translate it as People for the Eating of Tasty
Animals but, at the same time, I hate to cause any living thing to suffer
unnecessarily.
I don't even like to use RAID on spiders.
Which is why I didn't mention the small-grain powder stuff that gets under the
plates of the ants' exoskeleton and locks up their joints and clogs their
breathing aparatus.
Food-Grade Diatomaceous Earth. Ant killer you can eat.
Army ants, now. Those I can see killing with extreme prejudice. Regular
ecological nightmare.
Regards,
A.D.B.
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> On 23-6-2016 6:20, Alain wrote:
>>> On 21-6-2016 17:29, Anthony D. Baye wrote:
>>>> Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
>>>>> Talking of ants, I am in the middle of a grim human-against-ants
>>>>> campaign. Not sure who is going to win at this stage. My forces have
>>>>> had
>>>>> to retreat a couple of yards for lack of ammunition, and major
>>>>> regrouping - on both sides - is under way.
>>>>>
>>>> Assuming you're being literal, I've found a pretty good solution to ant
>>>> infestations, if you like oranges.
>>>>
>>>> Grind up the orange peels and scatter them on the ground around the
>>>> anthill: It
>>>> kills off the fungus that the ants feed on.
>>>>
>>>
>>> As usual, I was grossly exaggerating but the ants need constant
>>> vigilance in some parts of the garden. Oranges: good idea! Thank you, I
>>> shall add them to the ordnance ;-)
>>>
>>
>> Give then corn starch. They love it but can't digest it at all and it
>> end up clogging their digestive thact.
>> For ants, eating corn starch is like us eating plaster of cement powder
>> in large quantity, but tastier.
>
> Great! This is becoming nicely grisly. Maybe I should turn this into an
> image with metal ants eating/drinking something corrosive. Thanks for
> the info!
>
Bronze or copper ants drinking nitric acid, surrounded by a reddish-brow
clous and drippind blue fluids...
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On 23-6-2016 14:29, Bald Eagle wrote:
> Interesting idea about oranges as a fungicide.
> I wonder if the now-nearly-ubiquitous citrus cleaners have the same effect or
> are missing some key naturally occurring component.
>
> The corn starch idea is interesting as well - I'd never heard of that.
>
> I think the key though, as mentioned in the Sci Fi story, is to target the
> queen. Else all you're doing is racking up a body count of drones without
> addressing the root of the problem.
>
> Boric acid has been effective if employed properly. Mix it well with sugar or
> flour, or both, and then moisten it. The boric acid will then become chelated
> by any vicinal diols (adjacent hydroxyls) in the chemical structure, and be
> ingested along with the bait feed. Supposedly this gets brought back to the
> nest and fed to the queen, etc.
>
> Ants make their trails to follow with formic acid. Perhaps laying a false trail
> using natural formic acid - from ants or nettles or something - would lead them
> elsewhere (maybe to your bait). You might also spray something alkaline, and
> that might ruin the trails. (baking soda, TSP, etc.)
>
> My grandparents used "whitewash" {assuming it some kind of lime} painted onto
> the base of their trees - presumably to keep the bugs off of them.
>
> YMMV
> Best of luck battling the Empire of the Ants
>
It is getting the queen that is most desirable but also most difficult
indeed. Oh well, it keeps me off the streets to battle ants nestling
between the stones of my terrace (where they do the most harm,
unsettling the stones) or infesting my tomato plants, otherwise I am one
to let them live their little lives.
I do remember seeing whitewash on tree bases indeed. I don't know how
effective that might be. It may be something like the blue paint around
windows in Mediterranean countries to keep flies from coming in.
I definitely have to make an image now :-)
--
Thomas
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On 6/24/2016 7:55 AM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
> I do remember seeing whitewash on tree bases indeed. I don't know how
> effective that might be.
You might be remembering a leftover from WWII. In Britain we whitewashed
the bases of trees that were next to roads. It made them more visible to
headlights that were shuttered due to the blackout.
> It may be something like the blue paint around
> windows in Mediterranean countries to keep flies from coming in.
I didn't know that.
--
Regards
Stephen
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On 24-6-2016 9:16, Stephen wrote:
> On 6/24/2016 7:55 AM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
>> I do remember seeing whitewash on tree bases indeed. I don't know how
>> effective that might be.
>
> You might be remembering a leftover from WWII. In Britain we whitewashed
> the bases of trees that were next to roads. It made them more visible to
> headlights that were shuttered due to the blackout.
Yes indeed, now that you mention it. I think that was also done in other
countries. I recall them at least from France.
>
>
>> It may be something like the blue paint around
>> windows in Mediterranean countries to keep flies from coming in.
>
> I didn't know that.
>
I have always wondered about it.
--
Thomas
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On 6/24/2016 8:33 AM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
> On 24-6-2016 9:16, Stephen wrote:
>> On 6/24/2016 7:55 AM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
>>> I do remember seeing whitewash on tree bases indeed. I don't know how
>>> effective that might be.
>>
>> You might be remembering a leftover from WWII. In Britain we whitewashed
>> the bases of trees that were next to roads. It made them more visible to
>> headlights that were shuttered due to the blackout.
>
> Yes indeed, now that you mention it. I think that was also done in other
> countries. I recall them at least from France.
>
But they would not have had a blackout in the USA.
I found this:
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/whitewash-tree-63606.html
>>
>>
>>> It may be something like the blue paint around
>>> windows in Mediterranean countries to keep flies from coming in.
>>
>> I didn't know that.
>>
>
> I have always wondered about it.
>
Here is a different reason from Greece:
http://www.greecetravel.com/archaeology/mitsopoulou/blue.html
--
Regards
Stephen
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On 24-6-2016 10:02, Stephen wrote:
> On 6/24/2016 8:33 AM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
>> On 24-6-2016 9:16, Stephen wrote:
>>> On 6/24/2016 7:55 AM, Thomas de Groot wrote:
>>>> I do remember seeing whitewash on tree bases indeed. I don't know how
>>>> effective that might be.
>>>
>>> You might be remembering a leftover from WWII. In Britain we whitewashed
>>> the bases of trees that were next to roads. It made them more visible to
>>> headlights that were shuttered due to the blackout.
>>
>> Yes indeed, now that you mention it. I think that was also done in other
>> countries. I recall them at least from France.
>>
>
> But they would not have had a blackout in the USA.
> I found this:
> http://homeguides.sfgate.com/whitewash-tree-63606.html
I suppose there are different uses, this being one of them. At least the
trees lining roads make sense even after the war when car lights and
road lights were not what they are now. Many trees lining roads have
been cut down since the fifties because they generated too many accidents.
>
>
>>>
>>>
>>>> It may be something like the blue paint around
>>>> windows in Mediterranean countries to keep flies from coming in.
>>>
>>> I didn't know that.
>>>
>>
>> I have always wondered about it.
>>
>
> Here is a different reason from Greece:
> http://www.greecetravel.com/archaeology/mitsopoulou/blue.html
>
I think this is spot on. I think I was told in Spain, many years ago,
about the flies, but either the 'evil' connotation was lost, or 'flies'
were assimilated to evil (not without reason), or they pulled my leg ;-)
--
Thomas
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El 24/06/16 a las 13:15, Thomas de Groot escribió:
> I think this is spot on. I think I was told in Spain, many years ago,
> about the flies, but either the 'evil' connotation was lost, or
> 'flies' were assimilated to evil (not without reason), or they pulled
> my leg ;-)
>
No, they really believed what they told you: it's a belief around
south Spain, although I think it really has no scientific base. For the
same or a similar reason, they recommend to put plastic bags filled with
water hanging from the ceiling.
--
jaime
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On 24-6-2016 18:56, Jaime Vives Piqueres wrote:
> El 24/06/16 a las 13:15, Thomas de Groot escribió:
>> I think this is spot on. I think I was told in Spain, many years ago,
>> about the flies, but either the 'evil' connotation was lost, or
>> 'flies' were assimilated to evil (not without reason), or they pulled
>> my leg ;-)
>>
>
> No, they really believed what they told you: it's a belief around
> south Spain, although I think it really has no scientific base. For the
> same or a similar reason, they recommend to put plastic bags filled with
> water hanging from the ceiling.
>
So, I remembered correctly. I was told about 50 years ago and I mistrust
those ancient reminiscences sometimes ;-)
I guess the believe has been generated from the ancient evil-banning
belief being frown upon by the Church and transferred to flies instead.
And maybe flies are considered personifications of the devil. I don't
remember about that from my chats in little villages (taverns) at that
time...
--
Thomas
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On 25/06/16 07:47, Thomas de Groot wrote:
> ... I don't
> remember about that from my chats in little villages (taverns) at that
> time...
>
... though the wine and the brandy de Jerez may have clouded your memory
somewhat ;-)
John
--
It's not about bravery.
It's about doing what I need to do to win
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