Hysterics at Ants’ Reaction To Poison Trap Set for Them: ‘Mocking You’

A now-viral Reddit post showing ants apparently rebelling against a poison trap has sparked laughter and curiosity among thousands of viewers on the platform.

Posted on June 30 by @blackstone46, the image shows a small bait box placed on the floor of a room, surrounded by a mess of dust, debris and a few dead ants.

“The ants collected all the debris on the floor and piled it up around the bait,” wrote the Reddit user behind the post. Their post has garnered over 21,000 upvotes to date, with viewers offering humorous and speculative interpretations of the insects’ behavior in the comments.

Reddit users debated whether the ants were acting out of instinct, confusion—or defiance.

“I think they’re mocking you,” one viewer said. Their comment has been upvoted 10,000 times to date, with its sentiment echoed in several other reactions to what appeared to be an insect barricade around the poison.

Though viewers were left to puzzle over the photo’s meaning, experts say the behavior is not entirely without explanation.

Kris Bagnara, a certified pest control professional and associate certified entomologist, told Newsweek that ant bait works slowly on purpose.

“Ant bait is a slow-acting insecticide combined with a food component that ants love so much that they insist on sharing with other members of the colony,” said Bagnara, who now serves as director of service at All U Need Pest Control.

“The bait is slow-acting so that it has time to spread among the colony before its effects start to take hold,” Bagnara added. “This gives ants time to spread the bait around the colony, ideally reaching the queen and thus eliminating the colony.

“This process makes ant bait a very effective infestation deterrent,” he said.

That delay is likely what enabled some ants to die around the trap and others to interact with the surrounding debris.

While it is impossible to know whether the insects were intentionally isolating the poison or responding to fallen nestmates, the image has struck a nerve with online viewers who saw shades of sabotage and comedy in the unexpected scene.

“How ant-agonistic of them,” one viewer said.

Another added: “I’ve had this happen too except in my case they used all the debris to block the trap entrance.”

“Smart [because] the way these traps work is for them to carry the poison back to their den which then in turn kills them all,” a third viewer shared.

“Yeah, they always plug the entrance in these with dirt for me, but it’s always after they ate all the bait and is too late for them,” one commenter added.

Newsweek reached out to @blackstone46 for more information via Reddit.

Do you have any funny or adorable videos or pictures that you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them to life@newsweek.com, and they could appear on our site.