Seeing is believing, but nature always finds a way, and whether we like it or not, it remains very difficult to stop. This is especially true for certain PC gamers in the United States who are currently experiencing infestations in their neighborhoods and are encountering an interesting problem they cannot stop: red ants are eating their thermal paste and thermal pads. Will computers become ant nests?
This strange problem has been reported by multiple users. Many have shared images to show the issue, as these little friends seem to have found plenty of food, a nice place to live, and perhaps, a place to settle down.
The red ant becomes another enemy of your PC
There’s a high probability that this won’t occur in Europe, but people in the U.S. are already on notice. Among the affected users is Thejus_Parol, who kindly disassembled his GTX 1060 after noticing increasing temperatures. Once he took apart the card intending to clean it, he discovered that these little creatures had surrounded the card, even getting inside.
He observed how some ants were coming out with something between their mandibles, which prompted him to disassemble the card and confirm his suspicions. As expected, the red ants were feasting on the thermal paste and thermal pads. “I had to use a hairdryer to get them out of there,” he claims.
After cleaning everything with isopropyl alcohol and applying insect repellent to the table, he found that the ants returned just a few hours later: “Later, another group of ants appeared in the same exact spot, doing the same thing, eating my GPU alive.”
They don’t discriminate; They like both CPUs and GPUs
Another recorded video clearly shows ants non-stop walking across a NZXT AIO and a Sapphire GPU. No cable can resist them, nor can heat ward them off. They simply detect food and go for it.
Studies suggest that ants are attracted to magnetic and electric fields. It’s said that they congregate around electronic switches supplying power, but when the power is cut (the PC’s turned off), they disperse and look for a new target.
If you’re playing or working and don’t notice a single ant, hundreds or even thousands may follow. All it takes is a single ant shaking its abdomen, usually happening when they’re excited or electric current passes through their bodies, to release pheromones and swarm your PC with these curious creatures.
The problem is that where there are hundreds or thousands, there must be millions. Getting rid of them to keep your PC safe is not an easy task, as it requires a complete fumigation of the house. Since that’s not always feasible, users resort to simpler methods, such as sealing their chassis with plastic, which can increase temperatures inside the case.
One idea is to place the tower inside a bag sealed with duct tape to achieve maximum air-tightness. Some users report that after two weeks with this method, they haven’t experienced more issues, as the ants seem to have moved onto new food sources. However, nothing is guaranteed.
The new temperature enemy of your PC is the red ant: they love thermal paste and thermal pads!
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