aa......I had a dog that would dig metallic objects out of my yard. She would only dig where there was metal and naturally this stuff was all rusty so I believe it does give off an odor. I should have tried her out in the gold fields!

You can sleep tonight after reading the following:

In the United States, any small or tiny ant that infests a home is often labeled as a Pissant or piss ant. An actual Pissant is an ant that lives in certain European forests and gets its name from the odor produce by its nesting material - pine straw and pine needles. Middle English pissemyre : pisse, urine (from the smell of the formic acid that ants secrete); piss + mire, ant (probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Danish myre).
Small indoor ant infestations (those commonly called piss ants, sugar ants) can be any of a variety of small ants. Pharaoh Ants, Ghost Ants, White-Footed Ants, Odorous House Ants, Crazy Ants and other small ants are often the number one pest control problem in certain areas of the country. On the west coast of the United States, Argentine Ants are a major concern