Can ants damage my computer? I seem to be having a lots of ants in my apartment when the summer season started, my kitten is doing a good job so far and eating them but they are everywhere.
So if an ant finds a way to go inside the PC case... should I be worried?
1
Ants vs computer
Started by NukeCorr, May 22 2011 09:03 AM
15 replies to this topic
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#2 Members - Reputation: 334
Posted 22 May 2011 - 09:06 AM
the only thing i think that will happen is, that you will have toasted ants or dead ants but no damage should be done to your PC
Never say Never, Because Never comes too soon. - ryan20fun
Disclaimer: Each post of mine is intended as an attempt of helping and/or bringing some meaningfull insight to the topic at hand. Due to my nature, my good intentions will not always be plainly visible. I apologise in advance and assure you I mean no harm and do not intend to insult anyone.
Disclaimer: Each post of mine is intended as an attempt of helping and/or bringing some meaningfull insight to the topic at hand. Due to my nature, my good intentions will not always be plainly visible. I apologise in advance and assure you I mean no harm and do not intend to insult anyone.
#3 Members - Reputation: 141
Posted 22 May 2011 - 09:10 AM
the only thing i think that will happen is, that you will have toasted ants or dead ants but no damage should be done to your PC
Sorry for my poor english but..
Is it possible that an ant or a dead ant can connect two solders on the motherboard/GPU or anything else that will cause short-circuit(?) ?
EDIT: I would use ant-poison around comptuer or something but I can't because of my kitten
What the h*ll are you?
#5 Members - Reputation: 141
Posted 22 May 2011 - 09:29 AM
Although I could put somekind of liquid or something that has a smell that the ants dont like and kitten does not get poisoned.. build a "wall" around the computer..
why I didn't think of that earlier.. now I just need to google for something that the ants will avoid
why I didn't think of that earlier.. now I just need to google for something that the ants will avoid
What the h*ll are you?
#8 Members - Reputation: 1086
Posted 22 May 2011 - 11:46 AM
Yes, ants can damage your computer. They could get into the fan bearings or they could short out the power supply. It's not terribly likely, but it's a risk. Computers emitting heat may attract them; ants -- particularly flying ants -- will move up a temperature gradient (they think they're heading out of the nest towards the sunlit surface).
Locate where the ants are getting in from. Once you've done that, go buy some ant traps and leave them near that entrance. The ant traps contain a sweet, but toxic substance; it's a slow, cumulative neurotoxin. By the time it starts to have an effect, all the ants in the nest will have eaten enough to kill them; it will also kill the queens.
There several natural ways to keep ants away from food or other places. Pine wood has a characteristic scent which ants and other insects will avoid -- pine sap is poisonous to them. Pine wood is often sold in untreated small wooden cubes for this purpose (as a natural alternative to mothballs); just leave them lying around. It actually smells quite nice as well.
Another is garlic; the chemical we like in garlic is actually made to dissuade insect attack. Crack open the clove, thread the parts onto a string and hang it in the room. Slightly niffy, but not too bad if it's the kitchen. It'll also dissuade mosquitoes and small flies.
Marigolds are supposed to work for flying insects, but I don't know if they work against ants.
Locate where the ants are getting in from. Once you've done that, go buy some ant traps and leave them near that entrance. The ant traps contain a sweet, but toxic substance; it's a slow, cumulative neurotoxin. By the time it starts to have an effect, all the ants in the nest will have eaten enough to kill them; it will also kill the queens.
There several natural ways to keep ants away from food or other places. Pine wood has a characteristic scent which ants and other insects will avoid -- pine sap is poisonous to them. Pine wood is often sold in untreated small wooden cubes for this purpose (as a natural alternative to mothballs); just leave them lying around. It actually smells quite nice as well.
Another is garlic; the chemical we like in garlic is actually made to dissuade insect attack. Crack open the clove, thread the parts onto a string and hang it in the room. Slightly niffy, but not too bad if it's the kitchen. It'll also dissuade mosquitoes and small flies.
Marigolds are supposed to work for flying insects, but I don't know if they work against ants.
#11 Members - Reputation: 367
Posted 22 May 2011 - 12:01 PM
"kitten does not get poisoned"
Ant traps are (these days) designed so that pets can't get at the substance.
Also, the amount of poison used to kill ants is microscopic compared to how much it takes to kill a pet or small child. Similar to the difference in the amount of poison it would take to kill your cat vs a blue whale. Most sprays and baits are not harmful to pets for this reason.
#12 Members - Reputation: 632
Posted 22 May 2011 - 12:40 PM
Also, the amount of poison used to kill ants is microscopic compared to how much it takes to kill a pet or small child. Similar to the difference in the amount of poison it would take to kill your cat vs a blue whale. Most sprays and baits are not harmful to pets for this reason.
That's why you just use the traps to slow them down and finish them off with a shovel...
