+ 14 - 18 | § ¶War on ants
No, not ents (don't mess with those guys) - ants. Specifically, Argentine ants. Apparently California is one giant supercolony of them, with something like 200 billion (and I only wish I was exaggerating) of them stretched over 600 miles from southern Oregon down to San Diego. It's more recently been debated that it's actually more like 4 or 5 distinct colonies, but that doesn't change the fact that they've infested the entire Bay Area. They are omnivorous and have 8 queens per 1000 ants, making them numerous and persistent. They stick around all year but are most noticable during the summer.
And stopping them? Well, don't bother trying - both chemicals and "natural" solutions are ineffective. They'll move in your apartment when it suits them (driven by either hot weather or substantial rainfall), and only move out again when they feel like it again (they eat most anything but their favorite food comes from aphids and trees). California isn't the only place infested by these things - they come from South America, but stretch from Italy to Portugal in Europe. And they aren't just bothersome pests to humans - they displace native ants which can mess with the ecosystem and starve ant predators such as lizards.
Scientists have found a way to turn them against each other, meaning their unique cooperative boon can potentially be taken away. But to actually implement such a solution on a broad enough scale to make a difference, it seems that it will be necessary for us humans to cooperate and coordinate a bit. So, I have a not-so-modest proposal - a war on ants.
Clearly, these ants are attacking our fundamental way of life. And unlike the "war on terror", this is quite literally a battle in our homes. This challenge cannot be ignored, and if the government were to step in and deploy ant bait stations (spraying doesn't really help with these) then there will be some hope in this fight. If not, then we will just have to get used to our inevitable future.