HOUSE ANTS 5 



nests beneath brick, stone, and cement pavings and from these situa- 

 tions finds its way into houses. The colonies are easily killed with 

 carbon disulphide (p. 5) or, if close to the surface beneath the paving, 

 by means of hot water or kerosene, if the paving can be lifted. Carbon 

 disulphide is excellent for pouring through cracks in cement areaways. 

 Usually 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls will kill all the ants in the nest. 



The large black ant (Oamponotus herculeanus pennsylv aniens 

 Deg.) (fig. 3) is often over half an inch long and attracts much atten- 

 tion. It is frequently called a carpenter ant because it builds burrows 

 in decaying stumps, logs, and dead branches of trees close to houses. 

 It even burrows in house timbers, but usually only in those already 

 partially decayed or otherwise softened by exposure to weather or 

 soil moisture. When in a timber of the house or porch, the ants drop 

 bits of sawdust to the floor through small holes in their galleries in the 

 wood. Kill them by injecting kerosene, orthodichlorobenzene, or 

 carbon disulphide into the wood through these openings, or use a bait 

 (formula 4). It may be desirable to replace the infested wood, for 

 often it is already partially decayed from other causes. 



The Argentine ant (Iridomyrmex pruinosus Roger, var. humilis 

 Mayr) (fig. 4), found throughout the South and in portions of Cali- 

 fornia, greatly exceeds in destructiveness other species of ants and fre- 

 quently overruns entire communities. It nests almost anywhere, but 

 usually outside the house. It is best controlled by a campaign of 

 poisoning conducted by the community, during which a poisoned bait 

 (formula 3) is exposed in perforated tin cans or waxed-paper bags. 

 Often a few cans of poison attached to the foundations of a house and 

 to tree trunks in the yard will free individual homes of this species. 



Location of Colony or Nest 



The nest of a house or lawn ant may be in any place offering protec- 

 tion. In the house it may be between floorings, in the walls, behind 

 baseboards, in a decayed or defective timber, or in the soil beneath a 

 cracked cement cellar floor. Out of doors the nest may be in dry- 

 rotted porch supports or window sills, beneath brick or cement walks, 

 beneath stones, in decaying logs, in cavities, or the softened interior of 

 trees, or merely in the ground itself. 



When a nest is in the woodwork of the house, the accumulation of 

 sawdust which the ants drop from the infested piece of wood is usually 

 ample evidence of its presence. Ordinarily ants in wood are not to be 

 feared, as termites are, for they usually make their nests in wood 

 already softened or decayed by seeping rainwater or other moisture 

 and do not often attack thoroughly sound wood. The color of the 

 sawdust dropped by the ants through holes in the infested piece 

 indicates whether the wood is sound or not. 



Control of Ants 



Ideal ant control is based on the destruction of the queens and the 

 young in the nest itself. If the nest can be found by following back 

 along the line or trail of worker ants as they come to and go from 

 food, it is not difficult to kill the colony, particularly if it is located, 



