Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by DonGateley 3943 days ago
I ceased killing invasive ants with borax, a substance taken back to the hive to destroy it, when during one such defense I saw them divert from the track I was poisoning to attack newly hatched termites that were emerging from under an appliance. They were incredibly effective. They also raid termite colonies and carry away the eggs. I switched to a lemon oil based repellent applied locally as needed.
1 comments

At least here in Hawaii, predation by ants apparently is not effective at preventing termite infestations. They eat them, yeah, but they don't actually significantly affect the nests, according to what I've heard at least.
I'd bet it depends on the kind of ant and the kind of termite. I'm in Northern Ca and haven't seen trace of a termite since I stopped killing the ant colonies.