Ants are really fascinating insects even though most people just think of them as a nuisance. They are extremely hard workers and they have detailed colonies under ground. Each of the ants has a particular job to do and they do it very well. They are able to carry many times their body weight and that has fascinated researchers for decades.
There are more than 12,000 different species of ants out there and they are found in locations all over the world. Some of them are very small and brown in color. They tend not to be very harmful at all. Other species of ants including the fire ants are larger and they do bite. They will cause the skin to burn and to become red and inflamed.
Ants are able to communicate with each other in a variety of different ways. They give off a type of chemical called pheromones that allow them to send and interpret messages to each other. They also communicate using their keen sense of smell that occurs with the use of their antennas. Researchers have been able to identify may learned behaviors among ants that are similar to how humans learn from each other.
For the most part, ants are harmless but they will bite and attack if they feel threatened. It can be very difficult to get rid of ants once they have invaded your home. It is fascinating to watch them though. They march in a straight line and you may see a group of them going out with food and more coming in to get them. There are some very simple ways to get rid of them without poison though. You can draw a line on window sills with chalk. They won’t cross that chalk line and they will stay outdoors.
If you want to get rid of ant colonies you can likely do it by pouring very hot water down into the colony. You will need to do this several times before all of it is destroyed. Covering the area up with dirty isn’t effective as the ants are likely to be able to dig out of it by communicating and working together.