Can Ants Climb Walls?
Yes, ants can climb walls. Their legs have specialized adaptations that allow them to climb walls with ease. These adaptations include pretarsal adhesive pads, claws, and hairs. All these, let them cling onto and walk on walls as if they’re not affected by gravity.
In this article, we’ll look into the climbing ability of ants as we discuss the following:
- How ants climb walls
- What surfaces ants can climb
- What surface ants can’t climb
- How to stop ants from climbing
How Do Ants Climb Walls?
There are 2 main factors that allow ants to climb walls. First off, is their strength.
Ants are incredibly strong for their size. They’re fully capable of supporting their weight with minimal effort. This allows them to focus all their force on hanging onto walls or other surfaces. See this article to learn more about ant strength.
The other factor is ant anatomy or more specifically, the structure of their legs. Ant legs feature three specific adaptations that help them climb walls. These are as follows: [1]
Pretarsal Adhesive Pads
Ants have adhesive pads called arolia right between the claws of their feet. These soft and flexible pads secrete a fluid that essentially gives ants sticky feet. These allow ants to attach to surfaces by virtue of capillary adhesion.
Claws
Each ant leg contains claws which ants use to climb and hang on to things. Similar to how a rock climber uses a hook, they use these claws to grip the rough features of a surface.
Keep in mind that what may seem smooth to us, can be jagged to tiny creatures like ants. So what we perceive as smooth walls may actually be full of cracks and edges that ants can easily cling to and climb on.
Hair
Ants have dense hairs on their feet. These hairs generate friction to help ants stick to surfaces. Like with claws, ants use these hairs to hang on to tiny bumps or cracks that serve as footholds.
What Can Ants Climb?
Ants can climb most surfaces. Their adhesive pads allow them to climb surfaces including the following:
- Glass
- Tiles
- Wood
- Plastic
- Metal
- Stainless Steel
As long as a surface has footholds, ants can usually climb it with no issues.
What Can’t Ants Climb?
As adept as ants are at climbing, they do have limits. They can’t climb wet or slippery surfaces. These surfaces include the following:
- Teflon and Fluon Coated Surfaces
- Polished Glass
- Aluminum
These surfaces are too smooth and slippery for ants. They make it hard for ants to find footholds to hold on to and therefore, cause them to slip and fall.
How to Stop Ants from Climbing Walls
There are a few ways to stop ants from climbing walls. First off, you can use Fluon or Telfon. Again, these chemicals smoothen surfaces and make them slippery for ants. They’re commonly used by hobbyists to prevent ants from escaping their nests.
You can also use other slick substances like Vaseline, vapor rub, and oil. Regularly apply these on a surface you don’t want ants to climb on.
Related Questions
Can Ants Climb Ceilings?
Yes, ants can climb ceilings. They do so in the same way that they climb walls. They use the special adaptations they have on their feet. The adhesive pads, claws, and hairs, allow them to climb ceilings upside down.
Do Ants Get Hurt from Falling?
No, ants do not get hurt from falling. As small as they are, they tend to fall slowly and hence the impact when they hit the ground isn’t fatal. Additionally, they have exoskeletons that deform, absorb, and spread the impact of falls.
Check this article to learn more about why ants don’t get hurt or die from falling.
Summary: Can Ants Climb Walls?
To summarize, ants can climb walls. In fact, ants are amazing climbers. Their legs are specially adapted to climb most surfaces.
That said, they can’t climb everything. Surfaces like polished glass and aluminum are too slippery for them to climb. Oils and other slippery chemicals will also cause them to slip and fall.