suicidal electrocuted ants

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Discussion

shoehorn

Original Poster:

686 posts

142 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
I left my laptop charger cable out on the workbench this morning,still turned on.
when I returned about 5 hours latter there were about 40 dead ants all round the exposed laptop plug,sort of curled up but none closer than an inch.
I thought it was strange and observed another ant come along,divert from its original path straight towards the plug,act strange for a few seconds then just stand still for a minute or so and then keel over.
Any bods know why,firstly it attracts and charms them and secondly why it kills them?

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
No, but if you figure it out, patent it.

DUMBO100

1,878 posts

183 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
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My Aunt went the same way

dudleybloke

19,717 posts

185 months

MrBarry123

6,025 posts

120 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
"charms" is probably the wrong word.

TheRealFingers99

1,996 posts

127 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
I've never seen it among "native" ants. But I've heard that there are fire ant colonies in parts of the UK now.

Impasse

15,099 posts

240 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
Many years ago my daughter's cat chewed through the low voltage side of my laptop's power cable. Scared the bejeesus out of the daft animal and it disappeared for a few hours. The bite also tripped the house's circuit breaker in the fuse box.

The ants seemed uninjured though.

davhill

5,263 posts

183 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
I had a similar experice with one of those tall, double oven units, the kind that lives in a single, high kitchen unit. The circuit breaker kept tripping repeatedly for reasons unknown.

We'd had a problem with meeces and when I opened up the back of the cooker, I found out why the breaker kept going out. There were seven mice, arranged roughly in the shape of a question mark. Each one had its nose blasted away and all had no feet - the ends of their legs were welded to the (earthed) baseplate.

So why did they keep arriving, sniffing their colleagues' bums and getting buzzed? No idea.

A clean up and perforated zinc sheeting up the back of the stack sorted it out.

Harpo

482 posts

181 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
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How did they smell?

rufmeister

1,332 posts

121 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
Harpo said:
How did they smell?
They couldn't, they were dead.

vx220

2,689 posts

233 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
A couple of things to add

We once had a bloke wheel a cooker back into the store, as ot had been delivered with a mouse trapped behind the dial for one of the rings. It had died looking out the "window"

IIRC rabbits are attracted to magnetic fields from cables?

And don't sharks sense magnetic fields?

So I guess it's possible

motco

15,919 posts

245 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
You left your charger switched on when not in use! Shame on you, don't you care about the polar bears? The Energy/Climate Change Police are on their way to your house right now!

Conian

8,030 posts

200 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
motco said:
You left your charger switched on when not in use! Shame on you, don't you care about the polar bears? The Energy/Climate Change Police are on their way to your house right now!
fk the polar bears...... he murdered 40 ants!

750turbo

6,164 posts

223 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
vx220 said:
...

And don't sharks sense magnetic fields?

...
So, I wonder what would happen if you tried to strangle a Shark with an Electric Eel? confused

wink

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
750turbo said:
So, I wonder what would happen if you tried to strangle a Shark with an Electric Eel? confused

wink
The shark would scavenge your electrocuted corpse smile

STW2010

5,714 posts

161 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
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Conian said:
fk the polar bears...... he murdered 40 ants!
41 actually

Amirhussain

11,486 posts

162 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
rufmeister said:
Harpo said:
How did they smell?
They couldn't, they were dead.
laugh

shoehorn

Original Poster:

686 posts

142 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
Dudley guy,Thanks i read your link,
Its interesting that no one still knows why ants are attracted to electricity,
The strange thing is that even though there is only 2-500 ma there and,I assume that is enough to kill an ant by actual electric shock,they did not appear to actually touch it,certainly the one I witnessed didn`t.
None were any closer than an inch.

dudleybloke

19,717 posts

185 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
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You ever seen the film Phase IV?

Laurel Green

30,770 posts

231 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
davhill said:
We'd had a problem with meeces and when I opened up the back of the cooker, I found out why the breaker kept going out. There were seven mice, arranged roughly in the shape of a question mark. Each one had its nose blasted away and all had no feet - the ends of their legs were welded to the (earthed) baseplate.
I'd hazard a guess that the 'meeces don't know the answer either.