Expert: Jack DeAngelis - 11/4/2009

Question
i have an old farm house with a field stone basement wall (that leaks like a siv). this morning i went down to the basement and saw a large mound of small, brownish/red ants on the WALL. the ants were in a pile about 4 inches across and about 3/4 inch deep. i saw this about a year ago too, in the same spot. when i came home tonight the ants were gone - save for about 20 around the hole they must have come in through. what kind of ants are these. they didn't bring any dirt in. just a pile of 1000s of ants.

Answer
Shawn,

There are hundreds of species of ants most of which are small and nest in the soil. Your best bet is to collect a few and take them to your local Cooperative Extension office where someone can examine the sample. If you can't locate an Extension office post a follow up with your county and state names and I can help you find it.

Jack DeAngelis
http://www.livingwithbugs.com