Ants learn fast and don't forget

I rented in a house in So California for awhile that was built on top of a giant ant colony. It was within the first few days I found that out by leaving a few slices of pizza out in the box it was delivered in one night. By the next morning there was an ant highway every bit as busy as the 405 during LA rush hour traffic.

Of course, my first reaction was to go buy a big can of Ant spray. All that did was leave a trail of a zillion dead ants I had to clean up and poison the air with the stink of the spray.

I repeated that mistake a couple more times before learning if I just removed the food they were coming after they'd be gone in an hour or two. I felt like such a dumbass for not trying that first. And, of course, learning to be much more careful about leaving any kind of food out.

Still, it was pretty amazing to see. I mean, I almost never saw an ant if there wasn't any food left out, but it didn't take long at all for a zillion of them to show up if I did.

Ants seem relatively smart. I've been having ant problems in many places I've lived, and I'm fascinated by how quickly they learn and adapt. In the spring they arrive dump and inexperienced, walking here and there. But when you start killing them, they come up with different strategies to not get detected.

Hey, kind of off topic, but does anyone here know anything about dealing with imported fire ants?