Ant Hill Art

One of the biggest problems I have at my cabin in Georgia is keeping Fire Ants away from the house.

I don't even

pretend to try to eliminate them on the farm, I just don't want them near the house, where I, or my grandson, or my guests might accidentally step in a nest, so I try to keep them back 100 yards or so.

If you've never had to deal with Fire Ants, when you step on their nests they'll swarm up your legs, and you usually don't even feel them.

Then one will give the signal, and they all start biting you at once. Their bite contains a toxin that causes swelling and severe itching, often for days. It's especially painful for small children.

Fire Ant Casting

Fire Ants are an invasive species that migrated to America over the past four decades from Central America, and cause over $1 Billion worth of damage annually, just in this country.

Any available poisons that work on them are non-organic, and often take multiple applications to destroy a nest.

I spend at least $500 a year just trying to keep them 100 yards from the house.

This artist has found a way to turn Fire Ants - and other ants - into an income source and a work of art.

Carpenter Ant Casting

While he only works with abandoned ant colonies, in my opinion his method is more humane than the slow death that the ants suffer when poisoned. These ants are, after all, an invasive, foreign, non-native pest.

In this video you'll see how he pours molten aluminum into the ant hill, and after it has cooled he digs it out, cleans it up, and sells them on eBay. Remember - he only does this with abandoned ant nests.

I have GOT to try this!

Even if I don't dig the mold out of the ground, it's an effective, humane way to keep the buggers under control.

Farmers make a living by growing and selling crops and animals. Why not make the little buggers earn their keep, the same as everything else on the farm is expected to do?

The artist's website: http://www.anthillart.com/

As you'll see in the following article in the Huffington Post, and on his website, he has undergone tons of criticism from "ant huggers," so much so that he's turned off his email, even though he only does this with abandoned any colonies.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/12/molten-aluminum-ant-colonies-art-video_n_4434434.htm

My personal opinion is clearly stated above.

All negative feedback will be cheerfully ignored, especially criticism from people who aren't Vegetarian and thus condone the killing of calves, lambs, chickens, fish and other harmless animals for food.