PC gamers of all kinds fear bugs. There’s nothing worse than a random blue screen, crashes, your headset disconnecting, or just having to use Slack to make a call. The last one’s not a bug, but it’s painful because it refuses to use the correct audio devices. Anyway, you’ve also got to worry about ants now.
It’s a head-scratcher, but Redditor Thejus_Parol tells the tale of ants invading their gaming PC. We’re not making this up. Images of the critters running amok are something of a horror show. It’s possible these are led by some kind of ant leader, or ant man, if you will. It’s more likely that they’re just hungry for thermal paste.
“So, I was using my PC as usual, but I noticed that my max GPU temps were rising a bit. When I checked if the fans were spinning correctly, I saw ants marching on my GPU and on top of my case. They were even coming out from the heatsink of the GPU.” They then dissembled it and found that the ants had been chomping away on the thermal pads and thermal paste.
According to user ProfessionalCreme119, who is a professional, these are likely fire ants. This particular breed has something of a taste for electronics in general. They often chomp into them, die, and then release pheromones telling other ants they’re under attack. This attracts backup, meaning the infestation can get a lot worse.
It’s not a pretty situation, and the only real way to deal with them is with an exterminator. You could try summoning Paul Rudd, however we’re not sure anything but pest control is going to do the job. It’s a full nightmare situation. Not only is your PC and your beautiful, expensive Intel Core i9-14900K at risk, but you’ve also got a wider bug infestation to deal with. The good news is that this isn’t an especially common occurrence and seems to be a US-specific issue. Of course, that’s not really reassuring for anyone in the country.
It’s also not the first time evidence of this has been posted on Reddit. Three years ago, LazyLollipop posted a video showing that their PC was absolutely crawling with ants too. They even look to be the same kind. It might be worth making sure any thermal paste you’re buying isn’t tasty (absolutely don’t taste your thermal paste, please; this is a joke). If you’re in an area where this could be an issue, it’s probably worth elevating your PC somewhere harder to reach.
