Giant Mutant Ants

U

Uplander

Joined
Apr 18, 2007
Messages
265
Back in the late 50's/early 60's there was a pretty good sci-fi movie about the atomic tests at Alamogordo mutating common ants into 10 ft. long monsters. Differed from later not-so-good flics in that the beasts could be killed by small arms such as M1's, Thomsons & flamethrowers. Protagonists James Arness & James Whitmore [both WWII veterans btw] displayed competent gunhandling skills. Special effects were good for the era.
Anyway, the emergence of the 5/7/15 year locusts is occuring around me right now. The locust is a harmless 2'' bug that in it's adult form only lives a few days, mates, lays eggs in the ground then dies. It makes excellent fishing bait. It's mating call is a very loud trilling, exactly the same sound as those ants in the movie made. I spend most of every day outside & lately I've been creeped-out big time!!! Keep checking my 6 & have my Garand close by.
Uplander
 
Theres a web site where you can watch that one for free. I think its copyright expired, so it's legal.
I don't have it bookmarked, but Google is your friend.
It's worth watching again for the nostalgia if nothing else.


--Mike L.
 
Last edited:
i found ants in the sugar bowl on the kitchen counter this morning, squished the little devils, but cannot see where they came from. moved the bowl to a cupboard. been rainy a few days, musta driven them indoors. if i see them again, its borax and honey time.....

if you have the giant version, 55 gal drum full of honey (or sugar water) mixed with a dozen boxes of 20-mule team placed a bit away from your house will get 'er done. all them other chemicals is too environmentally damgerous....lead works too, use at least .45 cal. for the big ones, mr. thompson is your friend.
 
I've never heard of the honey/borax method.

What, exactly do you do and how does it work?

I've about given up on the "traps" and "spikes" as ineffective, and we have way too many pets to really spray. I'm about ready to buy an aardvark.
 
borax is mildly poisonous to mammalian pets, but highly toxic to ants, most pets are not interested in scarfing it up anyhow (takes a lot more proportionally to affect a pet than an ant, tho it can make them sick if they get enough), dry powder borax can be sprinkled where ant runs are, they pick it up on their legs and bring it back to the nest where it gets into their food, eventually the queens food, then zap, they all die. beetles like cockroaches are less affected by it as a poison, but it gets into their leg joints & the crystals lock up their joints, giving them a bad case of super-arthritis and they starve, diatomous earth works also & is essentially non-toxic to mammals with internal skeletons. many 'pet safe' ant traps are based on a sugar attractant and borax as the active ingredient, but cost a heck of a lot more than a box of 20-mule team (or boric acid from the drug store) and some sugar water. use common sense if around pets or kids, don't put it where they can accidentally walk thru it, if mixed with sugar or honey, don't put it where they can get to the sweets.

here's a linky, home-made ant bait section near bottom - also has some other tips.

another site i found recommends using about a 5% solution of borax/sugar water as 50/50 may be less appetising to some ants. many commercial ant poisons/baits/traps use a poison that kills the foraging ants before they can get back to the nest & contaminate it, borax is thus slower acting but eventually gets all the little buggers inc. the queen, no queen, no eggs, no workers.
 
Last edited:
Very cool! Thanks for the info & link. :thumbup:
 
So with all this talk of the movie, I'm watching Them! as we speak on GoogleVids, having just seen Tora! Tora! Tora! while at work tonight. First shot of the cops in the car, and I immediately think, "Admiral Halsey!" Sure enough, James Whitmore was in both films. I hadn't recognized the actor's name.

EDIT: Egad! And Dr. Medford is Kris Kringle from Miracle on 34th Street! I'd better get to IMDB before I'm surprised by any more cast member connections.
 
Last edited:
I remember the Ants from that show. Scared me a lot when I was little. Would love to see it again now that I'm 20 years older.

Heber
 
"Let the Ants Try," 1949 Frederik Pohl short story.

Synopsis: After a nuclear holocaust, a man goes back in time with mutated ants in the hope that their evolution will unite mankind against a common foe, thus preventing the nuclear holocaust. Man returns to the present, now a world of giant intelligent ants. Man goes back in time again to undo his mistake, but the ants have a time machine too and they're waiting for him.

I always thought this would make a great film for Charlton Heston. Only Charlton Heston could be dumb enough to take mutated ants into the past! Now we'll have to settle for Will Smith.
 
Check out "Indiana Jones and the Legend of the Crystal Skull." Talk about giant mutant ants.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top