Today’s home-page recycled SD question began “My mom once screamed bloody murder when, at the age of nine, I attempted to keep a banana cold by putting it in the refrigerator.”
Well, my mom screamed bloody murder when she came upon me vacuuming up a trail/cluster of tiny “sugar ants” who’d discovered a residue of spilled soda by the back door.
Mom was convinced that either: 1) the ants would escape, and/or 2) the trapped ants would reproduce inside the waste bag and turn it into an ant farm.
My own view was that some ants might survive the trip into the bag, but wouldn’t survive long enough to reproduce and/or organize. I also doubted that those tiny ants could escape the sealed bag by exiting the way they entered under their own power.
Was Mom right to insist that vacuuming up ants would backfire? FWIW, I’ve long since outgrown playing insect Terminator. But I’ve always wondered if Mom’s objections had merit.
Oh, and I may as well provide technical details: we’re talking about a 1970s-era basic Hoover upright vacuum cleaner with a disposable bag. I was using the hose attachment and crevice tool.
Putting the vacuum bag in the refrigerator afterward only seems like a good idea at first … it will slow the ants down and keep most in the bag itself … but you know mom as well as I do, she will not wait for the explanation …
If the vacuum bag were a better environment for them than wherever they were before, then they would have already found it and crawled up in there themselves.
I used to vacuum up spiders. I didn’t have anything against 'em but that particular house always seemed to have an overabundance of arachnids. I always figured the interior of the bag, being full of dust, dirt and whatnot, would be present an environment so dry that the poor fellers would die of dehydration pretty quickly.
On reading the OP’s post, it occurred to me that during the ant’s or spider’s rapid ride up the hose and into the bag or bagless chamber, the little critters would probably be violently slammed against many dirt particles and other, tiny, sharp-edged bits. These would cut into their exoskeletons and cause them to dry out even faster. Even if they managed the trip unmangled, I doubt they’d be in any condition to find a way out.
Right, if it gets to the point where the trail consists of safari driver ants, don’t bother reaching for the Hoover either, just move out of the house.
That’s an interesting question: does the velocity achieved by the ants/spiders/bugs exceed their terminal velocity sufficiently enough to cause damage to their exoskeletons during collisions?
You are correct, the conditions in the vacuum cleaner are quite deadly to insects.
They get dry powder all over them. Thats not food as its too dry, its in fact clogging up their breathing holes and suffocating them. If its only carpet fibre, due to the place being very clean, then its tying them up like a weeds seed in your socks.
The ant certainly can’t escape the vacuum cleaner . There’s no way for dust to get out , and dust is smaller than ants. Suppose an ant did try to go back out the hose… its relatively long way, and its filthy with dry dust too. They won’t do it.
The only issue is that ant, and other insect, parts - eg shell fragments, and their liquid insides may clog up the bag or filter.
If you have you use disposable paper bags, then there’s no build up issue.
