Worm & Fly: Private Investigators

Things That Make You Go Hmmm... Wanna Chalk Ants?

If you have ants coming into your house, make a chalk line, but use only the white chalk; they won't cross it, it sticks to their footsies. Hmmm....

So here's the best answer I read online, "chalk is made of of calcium carbonate, a nontoxic substance. It doesn't repel ants or immediately kill them. Ants would prefer to avoid crossing chalk if possible, because the chalk particles can puncture their skin and SLOWLY kill them by dehydration. I have used regular chalk, and it hasn't been particularly effective. I tried drawing a circle around a bunch of ants. In desperation, they crossed the line anyway.

However, there are some toxic chalks sold illegally in Chinese markets. These chalks contain lead and mercury compounds (along with who knows what else). I've seen these chalks in action before. Ants die immediately on crossing the line. Most ants avoid it though. It strongly repels them."

Then again, eHow home tells you to go to the Dollar Store and buy some cheap chalk.  Go figure.

Things that make you go hmmm... 

Cyanide and Happiness: Spider

ARACHNOTOWN

I sure hope whoever lives in this small town of 8,000 people doesn't have Arachnophobia, because it looks pretty darn scary.  Did you get that?  If you have a fear of spiders do not view these photos.

A town in the southeastern part of Australia had to evacuate because of rising flood waters, but they're in for a big surprise when they all return.   After everything is said and done, they're coming back to their yards covered in webs and SPIDERS!  And lots of them.  Read the full story here, and check out the photos below. 

It's Purely Animal - Issue No. 45 - The Ant Hurricane

Not sure if you've seen the viral YouTube video of ants forming some sort of "hurricane-type" circle on land.  They aimlessly go round and round following each other. It's pretty darn weird, but cool nonetheless. It's garnered nearly 2 million views thus far.

Well... you're probably wondering why these little guys are doing that?

The Discovery channel tries to explain it for you after the jump...

America's Most Feared Spider

The Recluse Spider.  

OMG, forget Lions, Tigers and Bears - this little bitch will kill you.  I'm not lying, it will.  This little brown spider has been know to paralyze and cause the skin to die.  I have a couple of friends who have been bitten by one of these, and they went through horrendous weeks of pain and torture.  They eventually recovered with treatment and surgery, but the adverse events are what sound problematic.  Along with their physical pain, they developed arachnophobia.

According to recent research, the  recluse spider may be making a migration to the United States in large numbers, because climate change is threatening their existence.  But little do people know these spiders already occupy most of the country.

"They tend to live under bark or logs in dry areas or underneath hanging rocks. But humans also create a good habitat for them in cellars, attics and garages," according to Rick Vetter, a research associate at the University of California, Riverside. Their venom contains a toxin that causes skin to die, resulting in what are known as necrotic lesions. In about 90 percent of cases, the bite of a brown recluse has virtually no effect. The other 10 percent cause severe symptoms with potentially life-threatening complications. There are no solid statistics available, but Vetter estimates that one or two bite-induced deaths occur each year, typically in small children.