Is there a plumber in the house?

Lately, when I first turn on the faucet in the downstairs bathtub, a horde (or a hill? a crawl? Just what the heck is the correct affinitive term for them anyway?) of ants comes rushing out ahead of the water. While this is disconcerting, it's not a big problem in itself--I simply flush them down the drain, like a scene from an insect version of The Ten Commandments, while I'm waiting for the hot water to arrive from the heater.

But I'm worried about the implications of it. Where are they coming from? There's no trail of ants leading into it, which leads me to conclude that they're getting into the pipe from somewhere else. That would in turn imply a leak in the system somewhere, but I've seen no other symptoms of it. Anyone have any bright (or otherwise) ideas?

We had this same situation and discovered that the ants are in the wall, not in the pipes. They are getting into the bathtub spout where it screws into the wall. Unscrew the bathtub spout and you can spray back into the wall for a temporary fix. For a longer term fix, call a pest control company.

The correct collective term for ants (and most other adult insects, flying or crawling) is "swarm."

Tho' I must admit, I like your suggestion, "crawl," better...much more evocative.

Darn...should've known this one. Ignore that last comment...not "swarm," but "colony" of ants.

I still like "crawl" best.