Richard
Elite Member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2000
- Messages
- 4,997
- Location
- Knoxville, TN
- Tractor
- International 1066 Full sized JCB Loader/Backhoe and a John Deere 430 to mow with
I stumbled onto something today and made me curious.
First, a bit of background to help understand why I'm confused.
Let's say about 5 years ago, we had the farm timbered. There was an area where they did all the cutting/loading of the timber (staging area??). This area was cleared flat to give them operating room. It's say, 500' off the road into the woods. The actual distance is not important as much as the relative distances.
Since this area was cleared out, they left and it has grown up VERY VERY thick. So thick it's almost impossible to get through without all those little thorny bushes hacking you to death.
Other day, father in law told me he heard some 4-wheelers back there (this is almost behind the houses) and I guess he saw them when he went down the road as he told me he yelled to them this was private property and they buzzed on down the road.
Today I was coming home from the co-op and for some reason, had a thought to walk down this path that they made.
Went to the top of the hill (500' in where the machinery use to be) About got hacked with all the overgrowth and stuff, but follwed their tracks.
The tracks went on a couple thousand MORE feet, WELL into the woods and actually almost behind my father in laws house.
So, we seem to have some punks who are not only trespassing but trying to make trails on the farm.
On this trail, I happened to find a plastic bag. Looked at it and it was a bag of topsoil.
That brought me back to the mound of dirt I saw about 20' prior to seeing the bag. Mound of dirt defined as possibly the contents of the bag having been dumped in a mound, 18/24 inches across.
Went to look at the mound and had a feeling in the back of my head to just kick it... then a stronger feeling to NOT do that.
Happened that there is a little sapling growing through this dirt so I just grabbed the sapling and rotated it, letting it sort of scrape the dirt around.
What I saw was darn near amazing.
Just under the top skin layer of dirt were THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of eggs along with thousands of ants that came scrambling to the top with all the commotion going on.
I've heard of some kind of ant (that is to be mildly feared?) that builds a large dirt mound on top of the ground.
I don't know if that kind of ant makes it this far north, I've never seen an ant mound larger than a 1/2 tube of toothpaste.
So, are these ants the nasty ants to be feared? did they make the mound, or might the mound be that bag of topsoil that one of these trespassers dumped there and some 'generic' ants made their home in the nice pile of dirt?
had I not found the empty bag of topsoil, I would have concluded the mound had to be dug by the ants, as it is, I simply do not know.
If it is that nasty ant that makes mounds, is there a way to kill the nest? I don't really want to go back there but I will if I can put gas/diesel/my wifes cooking or something as deadly on it
Should I try to kill the nest regardless of what kind of ants they are?
I have never in my life, seen so many thousands of eggs just mixed in with the soil, much like chocolate chips inside cookie dough however it seemed there was 1 egg for every 10 piece of soil... and the zillions of ants that came storming out... other than the Science Channel or the old movie Helstrom Chronicle, I've never seen so many ants at one time.
made me keep my distance and in fact, decide to leave the area immediately.
So, any thoughts as to battle plan(s)?
First, a bit of background to help understand why I'm confused.
Let's say about 5 years ago, we had the farm timbered. There was an area where they did all the cutting/loading of the timber (staging area??). This area was cleared flat to give them operating room. It's say, 500' off the road into the woods. The actual distance is not important as much as the relative distances.
Since this area was cleared out, they left and it has grown up VERY VERY thick. So thick it's almost impossible to get through without all those little thorny bushes hacking you to death.
Other day, father in law told me he heard some 4-wheelers back there (this is almost behind the houses) and I guess he saw them when he went down the road as he told me he yelled to them this was private property and they buzzed on down the road.
Today I was coming home from the co-op and for some reason, had a thought to walk down this path that they made.
Went to the top of the hill (500' in where the machinery use to be) About got hacked with all the overgrowth and stuff, but follwed their tracks.
The tracks went on a couple thousand MORE feet, WELL into the woods and actually almost behind my father in laws house.
So, we seem to have some punks who are not only trespassing but trying to make trails on the farm.
On this trail, I happened to find a plastic bag. Looked at it and it was a bag of topsoil.
That brought me back to the mound of dirt I saw about 20' prior to seeing the bag. Mound of dirt defined as possibly the contents of the bag having been dumped in a mound, 18/24 inches across.
Went to look at the mound and had a feeling in the back of my head to just kick it... then a stronger feeling to NOT do that.
Happened that there is a little sapling growing through this dirt so I just grabbed the sapling and rotated it, letting it sort of scrape the dirt around.
What I saw was darn near amazing.
Just under the top skin layer of dirt were THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of eggs along with thousands of ants that came scrambling to the top with all the commotion going on.
I've heard of some kind of ant (that is to be mildly feared?) that builds a large dirt mound on top of the ground.
I don't know if that kind of ant makes it this far north, I've never seen an ant mound larger than a 1/2 tube of toothpaste.
So, are these ants the nasty ants to be feared? did they make the mound, or might the mound be that bag of topsoil that one of these trespassers dumped there and some 'generic' ants made their home in the nice pile of dirt?
had I not found the empty bag of topsoil, I would have concluded the mound had to be dug by the ants, as it is, I simply do not know.
If it is that nasty ant that makes mounds, is there a way to kill the nest? I don't really want to go back there but I will if I can put gas/diesel/my wifes cooking or something as deadly on it
Should I try to kill the nest regardless of what kind of ants they are?
I have never in my life, seen so many thousands of eggs just mixed in with the soil, much like chocolate chips inside cookie dough however it seemed there was 1 egg for every 10 piece of soil... and the zillions of ants that came storming out... other than the Science Channel or the old movie Helstrom Chronicle, I've never seen so many ants at one time.
made me keep my distance and in fact, decide to leave the area immediately.
So, any thoughts as to battle plan(s)?
