This is the season where gardeners are used to seeing anthills and many varieties of ants moving around. Interestingly, some have gotten rid of their anthills by making them into collectible art valued at over $3600 per piece!

There are many aspects about anthills that we are usually not aware of.. sharing some of what I realized over years.

Anthills are usually seen as piles of sand, clay, soil. Over a period of time, the deeper they go, the taller their structure becomes. When ants dig tunnels under the soil / earth surface to store their food, they usually dispose the displaced earth and deposit them near the opening (entrance of the anthill). Anthills are made of many chambers connected by tunnels – something like our underground railway system. So, how do we know how deep or long an anthill is?

Some ants tend to go deeper down into the soil during colder months. So, yes.. the foundation of the place starts becoming weaker with the soil being flimsy underneath – with no stregth to support. Yes. that means, callling someone to treat your ant infestation if you find anthills rising up above the soil surface becomes critical.

This is a small one – probably must have been just forming for a few months.. seems to fit on a table top (good home decor)

Look at the complex chamber and tunnel structure

This one seems to be more than 5 feet long (or should we call it deep!)

This one must be at least 2.5 feet wide

This one seems to be the home decor again with a good yellow/golden lighting

The one below was on sale for $400 on ebay 🙂

The simple structures seem to be on sale from $20 a piece to the most expensive one I saw on etsy for over $3,600… (Etsy anthill art)o-boy.. this seems to be easy money for gardeners!

The more complex the piece, the more pricey it gets. So, how do we make one – or rather get one made (if you have an anthill issue and are trying to call pest control, it would be good to make some art work on the side – I suppose).

The below video shows how to make an anthill art with molten aluminum..! Truly amazing!

It made me think one person’s problem is another person’s livelihood and yet another’s artwork!

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