This time of year we occasionally find an ant on the kitchen floor. My wife is of the "stomp 'em!"persuasion but I am more for “catch and release” (outdoors). But am I instead condemning them to a slow painful death? By being separated from their nest or whatever. I understand they leave a scent-trail back home; perhaps I am breaking that? Or dropping them in “unfriendly territory” (the turf of rival ants.)
They may well find their way back into your house after the “catch and release”.
I understand your reluctance to separate them from their happy family. Maybe you could instead adopt the critters and buy them little ant outfits.
I would have had the same question myself.
Most ants need a chemical scent trail to find their way back. So I’m afraid you have killed the ants you so kindly released.
The good news is, their reliance on trails also helps you to prevent them entering your home. If you see ants, take a few minutes to study where they come from and where they go. That is the trail. First, try to find where the trail enters your home and block it. Plug it up. Then, delete the scent trail where it enters your home, and inside your home, with one of these home remedies: cinnamon, vinegar, chalk.
There. You have ensured good ant karma. And all those anty lives really add up karma points.
if you release the ant it might not no longer benefit the nest. it will still live without the nest.
I’ve seen documentaries about this. If you separate an ant from its colony, it has adventures and makes new friends and goes to the circus and visits Insectopia and rescues the princess and defeats the bad guys and returns to its nest as a hero.
Make a solution of boric acid, sugar, and water for them to drink. They’ll be able to return home to their nest, where all of them will die a slow horrible death.
Many ants use scent trails, but some don’t. However, even ones that don’t probably wouldn’t be able to find their way back to their nest if dropped a significant distance away.
A worker ant separated from its nest is probably doomed. Its behavior will be disrupted and as you speculate it may be attacked by other ants of the same species if it’s in the wrong territory. So really, stomping it is probably quicker and more merciful.
If they are coming in from outside, the best strategy is to find out where and prevent them from coming in. But it would be tough unless you are willing to employ potentially lethal methods.
Once in a while I will see an ant in my house so the other day I put one of those ant bait things next to an ant farm near the parking lot. Hopefully that will send the right message.
0 + 0 + 0 . . . = 0
So then it will ensure you’re reincarnated… as an ant?
You know how companies pollute a bunch, but it’s okay because they buy carbon credits? You can murder all the ants you see, then buy an ant farm (or a formicarium if you’re a fancy pants). Nurture them and conscience saved!
And ant farms don’t have queens yet they live for quite some time, so it’s not like they die immediately without mommy. Plus those red ants (harvester?) are way cooler than dumb little black ants.
Just think of the entire colony as one organism. Killing a worker is like killing a cell.
Why concern yourself, they don’t eat much and,presuming your house is kept klean they probably willn’t hang around for long, ceptn’ to get a few drops of water.