In a small settlement near Waldenburg in the district of Zwickau, there have been recurring issues with telephone and internet outages due to a peculiar reason—sexually active ants causing short circuits in the cable boxes.
According to the "Chemnitzer Morgenpost," young ant colonies in the Altweinholzchen district of Waldenburg have been causing chaos. During the spring mating season, ants seek out new nests, preferably in narrow and dark places like the Telekom distribution boxes.
As ants crawl, they leave behind a wafer-thin acid trail. This secretion, known as formic acid, serves as a defense mechanism, aids digestion, and repels harmful bacteria.
However, the formic acid contains a high concentration of 75 percent formic acid, which gradually corrodes the delicate cables and circuit boards inside the Telekom distribution boxes. As a result, short circuits occur, leading to a complete failure of telephone and internet services.
Telekom has confirmed to the newspaper that there have already been five disruptions caused by ants this year alone. Repairing the damage is not a simple task—it requires calling an exterminator to deal with the ant colonies before the broken switch boxes can be repaired.
The ongoing challenge is to find a solution that effectively prevents ants from infiltrating the distribution boxes and causing further disruptions to the telecommunication services in the area.
