And I thought I had a problem

[Mr__Bill]

I have spent the last few days battling those little ants again. I had thought that after fire-bombing them last year I was done with them, alas no they are back and I have yet to find the entry point.

But.....

After seeing this I'm thinking, what are a few ants...

A man with a BEE problem

Bill, who got to see the SUN today

[jussi]

On the upside he won't have to go far to make his honey bbq sauce.

[TB Roye]

Least he go them all and may have some free honey. Good luck with the ants. What kind are they?

Tom

[Alex Franke]

BBQ anyone?

Oh... my... gawd....

http://d.imagehost.org/view/0017/291...ed5b492259.jpg

I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see the pictures....

[Uncle Cracker]

Of course there was a hive... Did he think 5000 bees were living homeless?

I don't know that I'd want anything cooked on that grill after it was saturated with insecticides...

[abbi'sdad]

yeah but nows he's got pletty of bee's wax

[herb fellows]

HOLY CRAP! THAT IS INCREDIBLE! Do you have any idea if these were the so-called killer bees? Obviously, this didn't happen overnight, how could you not have seen it or heard it for (months?)??

[herb fellows]

They're the kind you don't worry about after seeing someone else's bee problem!

[crokett]

So would you rather the bees or a copperhead? 2 summers ago went to pull the cover off my grill and a copperhead stuck his head out from under one of the shelves. I went and got my shovel, very gingerly turned the grill on and waited a few minutes. Grilled snake anyone?

[footprintsinconc]

well, if you dont use your backyard is a long time, like several months, its possible.

my neighbors and our water meter are very close to one another in the ground. one day while our neighbor was trimming the sage bushes around the water meter and other electrical boxes, and she noticed that bees were continuously going in and coming out of a small hole in the cover for the water meter hole. guess what, we trimmed those bushes two months ago and we walk by the very place on a daily bases, but there was an 18"x 12" x 9" think bee hive inside the cavity! the fire department came out and took the cover off and thats when we discovered how big it was, we had no idea otherwise. we lost a lot of natual honey, but it was something to see.

[dbhost]

There are VERY good reasons I keep my smoker inside in the shop. I figure a well protected shed that we go into and out of frequently should be safe... I haven't ever had a bee problem on my property, but Fire Ants are another story... Those things are driving me nuts...

[Mr__Bill]

Least he go them all and may have some free honey. Good luck with the ants. What kind are they?

Tom

They are the little tinny ones. No long ant lines, just a few that you see about and then a swarm of them someplace. This time one of the pantry shelves. Not all the shelves, just the one and I have cleaned it and all that sits in there too. And they come back.

David, I think the snake... once dead they tend to not come back....

Oh well, its a beautiful sunny day out today, after all the rain it's a real treat. The hummingbirds are feeding (wish they ate ants) and I think I'll put everyone off for the day and enjoy it, air out the garage and build something.

Bill, on the Sunny Oregon Coast.

[Black wallnut]

Folks I have merged these two topics as they appear to be the same at least at first glance. If I'm wrong let me know and I might be able to split them back. Sorry for any confusion.

[docrowan]

They are the little tinny ones. No long ant lines, just a few that you see about and then a swarm of them someplace. This time one of the pantry shelves. Not all the shelves, just the one and I have cleaned it and all that sits in there too. And they come back.

Bill, on the Sunny Oregon Coast.

Bill,

We've had trouble with little black ants as well. Most people around here call them sugar ants, but they never go after sugar. I call them "crazy" ants because they don't follow lines and they usually move around in an erratic manner. After doing a lot of research we found out ours are called odiferous house ants and are difficult to eradicate. These ants don't make underground nests, they are nomadic and live in large groups under dead leaves and debris. They are called odiferous because if you crush one between your fingers and sniff closely they have a distinctive smell, described as rotten coconut. I've never smelled rotten coconut myself so I just say they smell bad. I never have tried it, but presumably regular ants don't smell when you crush them.

We control ours with outdoor ant bait stations and keeping the vegetation next to our house trimmed, raked, and generally cleaned up. I'll also spray Bengal around the outside of the house every few months. We learned you don't ever put bait stations inside your house, it just attracts more ants. You want to keep them outside, not lead them inside. Hope this helps.