San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-12-22
RED ANTS AND THEIR WAYS.
How the Creatures May be Discour-
aged-The Way to Drive
AWAY Ants

How the Creatures May be Discour-
aged-The Way to Drive
Away Ants.
"a multitude of all kinds of vermen,
as household pests in general, all the
way from rats to cockroaches seem to
be popularity designated, we appar-
emily owe to the older civilization of
Europe" said distinguished entom-
ologist to writer for the Washington
star. mot least annoying among
these imported foes is the red ant,
which probably received its scientific
name of 'Pharaoh's ant on account of
a defective knowledge of Scripture
on the part of its describer, who
doub tless imagined that ants formed
one of the plaques of Egypt. whereas
the only chronological affliction men,
toned in the Bibleas attacking Egypt
were lice, flies and locusts.
"A house badly infested with these
creatures is almost uninhabitable.
The only thing particularly worth
mentioning about them is the man.
ner in which they may be got rid of.
The first thing Is to find the point
from which they come-that is to say,
where their nest is. If thew have
| built the nest in some accessible spot
a little kerosene will quickly dispose
of the trouble. But if the nest is in
the wall or under the floor, and TAX
ing up a board will not bring it
| within reach, find the nearest accessi-
| BILE point and devote your energies
to killing the ants off as they appear.
Where the nests are outside the
house nothing is easier than to find
them and destroy them with kero-
| sene. The nests are almost always In
| the immediate vicinity of the house.
The insects are peculiarly susceptible
to the effects Of persian insect pow
| der.
"Su CHI household remedies as
have heard proposed are not usually
successful, depending as they do gen
orally upon trapping the ants by the
employment of one seductive mixture
or another. The best of these, so far
as know, consists of placing small
bits of sponge In the spots where the
ants most do congregate, collecting
the sponges once day or so, soaking
them in hot water and then replacing
them. But the animal seems to
breed with such enormous fecundity
that the killing off of few thousand
has little effect on the apparent num-
bers. The people of the Southern
States suffer much from these pests,
| and experienced persons in those lat
| itudes have recommended mixture
of borax and sugar left here and there
| on bits of broken crockery. myself
| know nothing of the value of this
| remedy.
"Another kind of ant which has
| given much annoyance to people in
Washington Is a larger black or
brownish creature that often builds
| It's nests so close to houses as to be-
come a serious nuisance. getting into
the rooms, and even making its way
into clothes, so as to be personal
| discomfort. A case was brought to
my notice two years ago in this city,
| where fine old homestead was on
the point of beng sold on account of
the annoyance caused by these
ants. An Investigation show
| ed one enormous nest several
feet in diameter in the back yard
and several colonies here and there in
other parts of the premises. The
large colony was completely destroy
ed by the use of bisulphide of carbon.
A teaspoonful was poured down each
of a number of openings, and damp
| blanket was thrown over them for a
few minutes. Then, the blanket be-
ing removed, the bisulphide was ex-
ploded at the mouth of each hole by
means of light at the end of a pole,
The slight explosion drove the pois-
onous fnmes down through the un-
foreground tunnels, killing off the
/ ants in enormous numbers. The main
source of the trouble being thus de.
| stroyed, the nuisance was greatly
lessened, and all talk of selling the
| old place has ceased.
"People in Washington who Guilt
vate flower beds from year to year
particularly along old fences, are apt
| to find those beds become filed with
the nests of the black ants. The in
sects can easily be got rid of with a
little effort. Kerosene is the appro-
pirate remedy, and it should be APP
piled with watering-pot after dark,
when the ants have gone to bed and
1t is light enough to see their holes.
If the first application of thus cure
| does not entirely dispose of the mis-
! chief, two or three trials should be
made at intervals of q few days.n