Houston, we've got a problem: PC-eating ants 9:11AM, Friday 16th May 2008

Houston has been hit with a computer bug like no other: a swarm of ants that are eating through electronics.

The "Crazy Raspberry Ants" are believed to have arrived in Texas aboard a cargo ship, and are causing widespread mayhem.

For some unknown reason they are attracted to electrical equipment, which is causing problems for residents in the Deep South. The ants have destroyed PCs in homes and offices, ruined pumps at a sewage treatment plant and even taken a fancy to homeowners' gas meters, according to reports from the Associated Press.

"If you open a computer, you would find a cluster of ants on the motherboard and all over," said Tom Raspberry, the owner of Budget Pest Control and the man the ants
have been named after. "You'd get 3,000 or 4,000 ants inside and they create arcs. They'll wipe out any computer," he told Computerworld.

The Johnson Space Center has reportedly called in pest control experts to make sure the little critters don't start chomping their way through NASA's computer systems. Although, according to Raspberry, he's already seen colonies on the NASA site.

"With the computer systems they have in there, it could devastate the facility," he said. "If these ants got into the facility in the numbers they have in other locations, well, it would be awful. I've been in this business for 32 years and this is unlike anything I've ever seen. Anything. When you bring in entomologists from all over the United States and they're in shock and awe, that shows you what it's like."

So what should worried PC owners be looking for? "They're itty-bitty things about the size of fleas, and they're just running everywhere," Patsy Morphew of Pearland, told AP. "There's just thousands and thousands of them. If you've seen a car racing, that's how they are. They're going fast, fast, fast. They're crazy."

You've been warned.

Barry Collins
©PCPro

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Old enough to know better(but)still young enough not to care

Houston, we've got a problem: PC-eating ants 9:11AM, Friday 16th May 2008

Houston has been hit with a computer bug like no other: a swarm of ants that are eating through electronics.

The "Crazy Raspberry Ants" are believed to have arrived in Texas aboard a cargo ship, and are causing widespread mayhem.

For some unknown reason they are attracted to electrical equipment, which is causing problems for residents in the Deep South. The ants have destroyed PCs in homes and offices, ruined pumps at a sewage treatment plant and even taken a fancy to homeowners' gas meters, according to reports from the Associated Press.

"If you open a computer, you would find a cluster of ants on the motherboard and all over," said Tom Raspberry, the owner of Budget Pest Control and the man the ants
have been named after. "You'd get 3,000 or 4,000 ants inside and they create arcs. They'll wipe out any computer," he told Computerworld.

The Johnson Space Center has reportedly called in pest control experts to make sure the little critters don't start chomping their way through NASA's computer systems. Although, according to Raspberry, he's already seen colonies on the NASA site.

"With the computer systems they have in there, it could devastate the facility," he said. "If these ants got into the facility in the numbers they have in other locations, well, it would be awful. I've been in this business for 32 years and this is unlike anything I've ever seen. Anything. When you bring in entomologists from all over the United States and they're in shock and awe, that shows you what it's like."

So what should worried PC owners be looking for? "They're itty-bitty things about the size of fleas, and they're just running everywhere," Patsy Morphew of Pearland, told AP. "There's just thousands and thousands of them. If you've seen a car racing, that's how they are. They're going fast, fast, fast. They're crazy."

You've been warned.

Barry Collins
©PCPro

On the brighter side...I heard they kill fire ants...

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Official Abuser of Boinc Buttons...
And no good credit hound!

A few years back I had an old 'breaker style' UPS that went flaky on me... When I cracked open the casing, I found clusters of dead ants inside... After I blew them out with an air hose, the UPS worked great for another couple of years...

Not only are ants drawn to electricity, but they are very good conductors of it... ;)

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It may not be 1984 but George Orwell sure did see the future . . .

. . . i used to see those 'micro-ants' in Los Angeles, California a number of years back

< note: they never got near any of my systems though, thank thwe lord ;)

> ps - the chinese gave mi some white chalk like bars - about 1/2 inch X 3 inches by 1/4 inch - draw a line with it - around where the ants come in and Vamoos - their gone right quick . . . seriously

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BOINC Wiki . . .

Science Status Page . . .

Not only are ants drawn to electricity, but they are very good conductors of it... ;)

...and, they stay crunchy in milk...

I never had insects take down a system, but had an old DPS6 auger in when the population of mice living in Hotel Honeywell reached critical mass. What a sweet smelling PM job that one was!

I never had insects take down a system

They actually got me twice... They seem to enjoy the little breaker boxes inside a/c units as well... ;)

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It may not be 1984 but George Orwell sure did see the future . . .

I never had insects take down a system

They actually got me twice... They seem to enjoy the little breaker boxes inside a/c units as well... ;)

Nothing beats a jar of honey.

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me@rescam.org

Just another reason I enjoy the cold winters of North Dakota. Keeps the riff-raff out...not to mention the likes of ants such as these ;)

Course, most sane people also leave the state, but all the better for clear skies and a wide-open view of the stars.

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