Why Are You Everywhere, Ants?

Why are you everywhere, ants? I keep a clean house, don't I?

Well, I guess from a classical standpoint, no I don't. But there's certainly no food anywhere! I've seen to that personally. There isn't even the memory of food.

What are these ants after? What can be of interest, in my house, to ants? What's their angle?

They're not even in the right room! Kitchen's that way, ants! No food in there either.

These ants are all over! One by the tub. One over the bathroom sink. Another one crawling along by the baseboard, another by the base of the toilet. There is no food in this room! I don't even bring snacks in here. Four ants so far. What do they want? Is it some kind of scouting party?

I know that ants have a highly-organized, complex society. Are they here as some kind of ant version of a corporate boondoggle, an ant tax write-off? Because this is a wasteful investment of resources in a room with no food in it, and no prospect of there ever being any food in it. FIVE! There's another ant, on the face of the medicine cabinet door!

Dude! How did you make your ant way over all those gaps and grooves, to get to the front of the door surface?

These ants are determined, I'll give them that. But what's their game?

You know what, though? Maybe this assumed food fixation is all wrong, maybe they're just curious and exploratory. Because I was out by the mailbox the other day, and there were a ton of ants - at least two dozen ants. And there's no food out there, either! That I can see.