bugs--born to die

[Guest guest]

on the 8 limbed yogic curve of life, i'm still

pre-gestational. as such, i have to admit to being less than

compassionate towards those animals that try to eat me, suck my

blood, crawl in my children's beds and contaminate my

cheetos. these animals are competitors--we have co-evolved

as competitors. we have always tried to out compete

for resources, if darwin is correct. <br><br>ants are

formidible competitors, among the best in the animal

kingdom. they learn and adapt very readily. their patience

and altruism are practically insurmountable traits. i

have learned that one can use their reliance on

pheromes to encourage them to seek greener pastures. i

learned this trick growing up in oklahoma. in the rural

areas there, if a rancher or farmer killed a

'predator', it was/is a common practice to hang the tails and

heads of the coyotes, hawks etc. from property line

fences. the display was supposed to convey some kind of

primitive warning to the other animals out there: "to come

across this fence is to enter the valley of death". that

approach doesn't work very well with vertebrates, we're

too stupid. it does, however, work very well with

ants. if there is a line of ants wending their way

across your kitchen floor, up the cabinets and into the

panty, spray the entire line with windex (less toxic to

me and mine). the trespassers will die. the key step

is to leave them where they lie-stuck to the wall,

floor, etc. the following ants will come across the

battle field. upon noticing the carnage, being the

adaptive, intelligent beings that they are, they will find

another place to go, or at least another route. it is a

little messy visually, but it is

effective.<br>peacefully yours in evolution, john.