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OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine — Maine's state fire marshal says a man burned down his parents' house and killed three pets while trying to exterminate ants in his basement with matches.
Investigators say 21-year-old Devon Doucette was trying to incinerate the ants with wooden matches when one of them ignited combustible materials. The fire quickly spread to the rest of the house.
[...] Authorities say the fire killed two cats and one dog. They say charges are not likely.
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Man Accidentally Burns Down Parents' House, Killing Cats, Dog, in Attempt to Exterminate Ants
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(Score: 2) by VLM on Sunday April 02 2017, @12:52PM
Another method is hydrogen cyanide which can be had from ammonia. Efficient, but it's extremely toxic and more complicated to make and probably to be sure it's gone later.
Chemical warfare is the way to go. In general. Specifically vs ants, their oils are delicate and you can either whack them with a different oil (citrus oil degreaser, perhaps) or mineral spirits. Mineral spirits can be set on fire, its harder than gasoline or matches but that achievement can be unlocked with enough effort.
To some extent ant infestations are like stump removal, where doing it the "right way" is easy and only moderately expensive so naturally people F around with all kinds of ridiculous stuff instead.
Outdoors a pot of boiling water will take care of the problem. Its a good excuse to get out the turkey fryer and do a Lenten fish fry and then dump the oil into the ant hill. I wear my aluminum casting safety gear while doing that... I woudn't recommend doing that if you're a nudist.