How loud are ants?

[VenusPrincess]

Yesterday I ordered some pasta and it came with a salad and garlic bread. I finished the pasta and salad, but I was too full to eat the garlic bread so I just set it down on the floor next to my couch. It was later at night and I had the lights off so that I could watch my TV show so it was too dark to see anything besides the TV, but while watching my TV show I began to hear a crinkling sound to my right. At first I ignored it, but after a couple minutes the crinkling was undeniable and I was curious about what it could possibly be. I got up and turned on the lights and I saw hundreds of ants on top of the paper bag that held the garlic bread. I put on latex gloves and got a garbage bag, and then quickly picked up the paper bag and dropped it inside the garbage bag. I then got a can of raid and sprayed the whole area around where the paper bag was to kill the remaining ants that were running around. I disposed of the garbage bag immediately outside of my apartment. I was surprised that the ants could make enough noise that I could hear them. How loud are ants in terms of decibels, and how many have to be walking around to make their movement perceptible?

[MigL]

Ants, no problem.
Don't change your eating/cleaning habits and cockroaches are next.

[ALine]

I think that the intensity of the sound from an ant would depend on the material that the ant is stepping on. If an ant is stepping on a empty metal bag then than is going to emit more sound than being on say a rug or a carpet. 

[Daniel Dan]

22 hours ago, VenusPrincess said:

Yesterday I ordered some pasta and it came with a salad and garlic bread. I finished the pasta and salad, but I was too full to eat the garlic bread so I just set it down on the floor next to my couch. It was later at night and I had the lights off so that I could watch my TV show so it was too dark to see anything besides the TV, but while watching my TV show I began to hear a crinkling sound to my right. At first I ignored it, but after a couple minutes the crinkling was undeniable and I was curious about what it could possibly be. I got up and turned on the lights and I saw hundreds of ants on top of the paper bag that held the garlic bread. I put on latex gloves and got a garbage bag, and then quickly picked up the paper bag and dropped it inside the garbage bag. I then got a can of raid and sprayed the whole area around where the paper bag was to kill the remaining ants that were running around. I disposed of the garbage bag immediately outside of my apartment. I was surprised that the ants could make enough noise that I could hear them. How loud are ants in terms of decibels, and how many have to be walking around to make their movement perceptible?

I had exactly the same experience, so yes, they can make a pretty loud sounds when they eat

They got strong jaws:

 

Edited October 17, 2020 by Daniel Dan

[VenusPrincess]

On 10/16/2020 at 12:20 PM, MigL said:

Ants, no problem.
Don't change your eating/cleaning habits and cockroaches are next.

I usually throw stuff away immediately but I got lazy that night. I will definitely be more careful, I hate roaches.

On 10/16/2020 at 12:46 PM, ALine said:

I think that the intensity of the sound from an ant would depend on the material that the ant is stepping on. If an ant is stepping on a empty metal bag then than is going to emit more sound than being on say a rug or a carpet. 

I figured this as well. The sound was more likely to the the crinkling of the paper bag then the ants munching on the bread, but I wonder.

On 10/16/2020 at 8:45 PM, Daniel Dan said:

I had exactly the same experience, so yes, they can make a pretty loud sounds when they eat

They got strong jaws:

 

The thought of hundreds of little ant pincers munching loud enough to be audible bothers me! I hope the sound was their little footsteps on the paper bag instead.

[ALine]

3 minutes ago, VenusPrincess said:

The thought of hundreds of little ant pincers munching loud enough to be audible bothers me! I hope the sound was their little footsteps on the paper bag instead.

then would the sound possibly come from their potential crunching of paper bag due to there strong jaws being able to provide a large enough force and not there movement on the paper bag?

p.s. apologies if this was an implied understanding

[MigL]

6 minutes ago, VenusPrincess said:

The thought of hundreds of little ant pincers munching loud enough to be audible bothers me!

Don't be so worried 'Leiningen'.
At least your hearing is good; us old folks wouldn't hear until too late and we'd have the 'meat stripped from our bones' by the little terrors.

[MigL]

What ?
No-one has read C Stephenson's 'Leiningen Versus The Ants' ?