I.R.L. Ants, et al. (Harmony in Nature?)

“After spraying the kitchen with vinegar, then with hot sauce, to no avail, I finally called an exterminator.”

Rennie Sparks could not get rid of her ants. They were attacking honey she had harvested from hives in her yard.  They were, in fact, marching right under the half-screwed-on lid of a honey jar.  Sparks, a lyricist, banjo player, and author, shared her tale of woe in an op-ed piece for The New York Times.  She did everything she could to get rid of the ants, but nothing worked.

“After spraying the kitchen with vinegar, then with hot sauce, to no avail,” she said in the New York Times, “I finally called an exterminator. She laid out baits filled with a poisoned sweet-syrup (it looked a lot like honey!) and also sprayed my kitchen and yard. ‘Be careful,’ I pleaded as she spread her poison. ‘Don’t hurt my bees!’” 

 

How the bees fared, Sparks did not report, but “alas, none of us travel more than briefly through this beautiful yard we call earth,” she said, “regardless of how separate we may feel from other living creatures, we are all here together.... There will always be more things alive in my kitchen than I care to see.” 

Indeed, we are all here together. Must we kill everything “not us”? Rennie Sparks killed ants only when she felt she had to draw the line, but there are natural remedies that will help keep the sanity while protecting our planet, too. And bees benefit as well.    

Traditionally, beekeepers used lemon balm to attract bees to empty hives. “The Essential Guide to Herbs,” edited by Lesley Bremness, reported lemon balm might help fight infections, too. Such knowledge is invaluable. But discouraging ants? Who cares? They will come around with or without us. They're just looking for food, and we get in the way.

Try something different, right?

Remember when the ants went marching one by one? When the little one stopped to tie his shoe? Growing older, we sometimes forget that all once belonged. 

If we take the time, many of us will remember we “talked” to some of the creatures as children.  A recent article in the Omaha World-Herald, for example, reported on a special zoo preschool at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. One mother, Kristen Petersen, had reservations and worried the program might be a glorified trip to the zoo. In truth, however, not only did her 3-year-old daughter learn to write her name, she became more nurturing:

“Now, she avoids stepping on bugs,” Petersen said, “and is quiet around the yard, careful not to ‘disturb this bunny’s habitat.’”

It's true. Many boys will remember trying to make rabbit snares. But the creatures are not stupid—even the ants.

A blogger scattered ants by merely coming home once and turning on the lights in a pitch-black room. The ants disappeared for good after being scattered by the “intrusion,” followed by cleaning under the window sills where they entered, scrubbing the kitchen counters, and better food storage. Thus, we can rid ourselves of ants naturally, especially in a studio-house of one room (which happened in the summer of 2014), by:

1. Turning on lights.
2. “Banging pots and pans.”
3. Allowing the escaping ants the freedom to return where they came from outside.

It's doubtful there will ever be an exterminator who clobbers ants with bright lights and Billy clubs, but thinking outside the box might not be such a bad idea in the face of global extinction.  And, in fact, studies have shown, according to Discover, Science for the Curious, that this is true: ants might well learn the association. 

The study's abstract reads like a sociology text, but it seems to be saying that if someone (or maybe even something) is scared while eating, he or she loses interest in the food.

There is not much online about getting rid of ants by scaring them, but lots of advice on keeping a kitchen clean.

Of course, the ants sometimes return, and there is not much online about getting rid of ants by scaring them. There is lots of advice on keeping a kitchen clean, but also about fighting ants naturally. Two of the best are Treehugger, which recommends ways to discourage ants, and Pest Kill, which offers ways to kill them without poisons. 

There are YouTube videos, too, but far too many are about poison and poison and more poison. But one sight, Lotusland, is truly insightful, in a humane way. Most ant species are beneficial, and indiscriminately destroying them foolish. Ants feed on organic substances and living insect pests. They are one of nature’s most efficient ways of handling insects and smaller animals that die. Better: Leave them alone, once out of the house, if possible. Let them wander the garden or live in their ant mounds in peace. 

Christopher Solomon, in a February op-ed, had a thought on this. He wasn’t talking about the insect biosphere, per se, but about how we think about nature:

“When we think of injuring nature,” he said February 15, 2015, in The New York Times, “it is easy to point an accusing finger at mining companies and their strip mines or timber barons and their clear-cuts.  But could something as mellow as back-country skiing or a Thoreauvian walk in the woods cause harm too?” 

He said yes, and called for more concern (below, a creative YouTube video explores how we influence the biosphere by just stepping out the door).

“A century ago,” Solomon said, “nature had elbow room.  Now, there is a lot less of it ... recreational activities and nature tourism are growing in most parks, wilderness areas and other protected areas around the world.

“The National Park Service has allowed marathons in parks, for instance, and the controversial push by mountain bikers to ride in federal wilderness areas is heating up again. ... The challenge is to find a balance between enjoying nature and protecting it, recognizing that recreation does not necessarily complement conservation or preservation.” 

Back in the kitchen the ants had disappeared. Not forever, of course, but for most of the summer.

The op-ed hit hard, for many join nature for fun and relaxation, especially during the summer months. This is normal, and there is nothing wrong with having fun. But advocates for sustainability worry.

Harper’s Magazine, which has voiced concern about the lack of nature conservation, has spoken eloquently about the sagebrush sea, an immense sea of sagebrush (once stretching 5000,000 square miles across North America), now endangered. 

 

In “The Great Republican Land Heist,” for example (read it here), Harper’s said the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in 2007, closed portions of the sagebrush sea in Nevada. Several parts of a canyon, Recapture Canyon, were closed to motorized traffic, but residents were angry. The author, Christopher Ketcham, reported an event held in protest of this closing of public lands. Area residents, riding all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), stormed into the canyon. As the ATVs roared past, into the sagebrush, a crowd waved American flags.

“They repeated the phrase, ‘Thank you, sir!’ to each passing rider, some of whom cradled assault rifles,” Ketcham said. “The only law enforcement on hand were some local sheriff’s deputies. I asked one of the deputies whether he or his fellow lawmen had done anything to stop the incursion. He laughed and said it wasn’t their job, it was the BLM’s. I asked whether he had seen BLM officers. ‘Not one,’ he said. ‘Complete no-show.’” 

Yes, harmony in nature will help, but it doesn't look promising. Even so, back in the kitchen the ants disappeared when they were interrupted by lightening (the house lights coming on), and thunder (banging pots and pans). Not forever, of course, but they were a complete no-show for most of the summer. They were not dead, but rather, they changed their behavior to adapt—and would again. Unlike so many of us, they learn in the face of danger.