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ABOUT THOSE ANTS …

By on • ( 32 )

AND STILL MORE ANTS!

I was dreading going into the kitchen this morning.

It will be five more days — five very long days — until the pest control people can get the job done. Until next Thursday, we will continue to have ants.

They haven’t left the premises. But not as bad as yesterday because very little is as bad as yesterday.

Gibbs is not bothered by bugs. I don’t think he even notices the ants.

I got up early to make sure the dogs had enough water and turn the coffee on … and see how many ants had returned to the kitchen. I was pleased that there were some — small bunches and single wanderers — and more of the little sugar ants than carpenter ants today, but at least it wasn’t like yesterday.

Yesterday, it was me standing alone against the crawling hordes. This wasn’t nearly as bad. I cleaned up and went back for another hour or two of sleep.

I hate ants. I’ve probably mentioned that before.

He would like to order some special treats, if only I’d leave the credit card next to the computer!

At around 11, when I know it’s get up or have Duke knock the door open and leap onto the bed, I gave Garry a shake and we got up. He hit the kitchen first. I’m sure he was filled with fear of what he might find. Not so bad … at least not compared to yesterday. Anything was better than yesterday. He killed some, and then I arrived and killed some more.

“Die you little bastards” I cry, but they don’t hear me.

Ants are single-purpose insects. It turns out these ants — the carpenter ants — kill other insects so in theory, I should welcome them.

I don’t.

Otherwise, they build monuments. They walk in lock step and build hills full of ants and more ants and if they had the world to themselves, they would fill it completely with nothing but more and more ants. Some cartoon I read said if you weighed all the ants on earth, they would weigh more than all the people on earth.

Think about that.

The Duke is alert and watching for danger … mainly for the neighbors. Ants are not on his list.

Doesn’t that give you a big pause for thought? There are a lot of ants on this earth and about half of them seem to be living in my backyard having (it would appear) built a monumental hill next to the foot of the deck.

This house is old and it has a lot of damp areas of wood. The ants like damp wood. Short of stripping the house and essentially rebuilding it — we are going to have to live with an old house and its bugs.

There are trillions of ants and one of you. They are there, watching you and waiting.

Have a fabulous holiday weekend.

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32 replies

  1. evilsquirrel13
    04/01/2018 • 10:01

    The ants are always bad in the front rooms of my house during the Spring… and with the deluge of rain we’ve had the past month, I can imagine this will be a banner year for them. I bought some bait traps today in preparation. Not enough to kill a trillion ants, but enough to still be considered an ant serial killer…

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  2. cordeliasmom2012
    03/31/2018 • 20:30

    We got ants at our last house. Some years there were lots, and some years just a few. There never seemed to be any reason why there were more sometimes. We just put those little traps around where the dogs couldn’t get them and hoped for the best. Knock on wood, so far we haven’t seen any ants at the new house, but it’s not spring here yet.

    PS: When we were first married, we lived in a basement apartment. One morning, my husband dropped and broke a bottle of maple syrup and we were late taking the kids to see Grandma, so we just threw the syrup soaked kitchen rug into the bathtub. Upon arriving home, I walked into the bathroom and my first thought was: “But we don’t have a black bathtub!” Hubby got the job of eliminating those thousands of crawly pests.

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    • Marilyn Armstrong
      03/31/2018 • 21:10

      There seem to be more of them when there has been a lot of snow. It melts against the house and makes the wood damp and that brings the big carpenter ants. They are less attracted to sweets than the little sugar ants, but they are big and black and icky. Why did we get a full-fledged invasion THIS year? I gather it is because the melting snow left a nice damp wood stake that holds up the deck, so they built a big nest and they’ve been marching into the house. Why? They don’t really eat our food. They eat other insects but there must be something in here they like because we had a horde of them yesterday.

      We used to get them when we lived in Boston, too. They are one of the perils of living in the northeast. They live in the dirt and when it warms up, they come out and stroll around your house as if it was theirs.

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  3. Marilyn Armstrong
    03/31/2018 • 19:53

    I’ve got Comet across the doorway and Windex everywhere else. They are still popping up, though not as bad as yesterday. Yesterday was horrendous. I only have to survive until next Thursday. Then they come and clean it all out. Meanwhile, it’s Windex, vinegar and anything else that might work. Orange works as well as lemon, but nothing works as well as finding the nest and destroying it. Once the nest is gone, so are the ants.

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  4. Covert Novelist
    03/31/2018 • 17:50

    I’m all about using what I have until…

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  5. Covert Novelist
    03/31/2018 • 17:50

    Perhaps a couple of these ideas will help

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  6. Covert Novelist
    03/31/2018 • 17:49

    I had to laugh at your sense of humour about it all even though I detest bugs all bugs ants included.https://www.care2.com/causes/10-ways-to-keep-those-pesky-ants-out-of-your-kitchen.html

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  7. ravenhawks magazine
    03/31/2018 • 16:32

    Not a fan of ants, that being said I live in the woods so I need instant solutions. Here are a few of my solutions for ants and mice, peppermint oil placed around the places they enter, a few drops on a cotton ball usually work. Or vinegar put vinegar in a spray bottle and spray it where ants commonly appear. Black pepper or cayenne pepper can also be used to defend areas from ants by sprinkling it in places where ants show up.

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  8. Willow
    03/31/2018 • 14:49

    We have a pest control company that comes out quarterly in the winter and more often in the summer because it’s *damp* out here. The carpenter ants live in the trees and love to come munch on our house because it is also old and full of damp wood. Next house will be more concrete and brick than wood, you can bet on that.

    You have my sympathies. And good luck with your war.

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    • Marilyn Armstrong
      03/31/2018 • 15:43

      This house has grown old without the elegance of really old houses “that were built so much better.” There is a lot of damp wood for them to enjoy. But we aren’t moving anywhere, so as long as we can poison the shit out of the little buggers, this is home. For us and all those millions of ants.

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  9. lifelessons
    03/31/2018 • 14:11

    Just discovered that carpenter ants have invaded my studio as well.They built an entire colony between the wall and my hanging shelves that cover the whole wall a few years ago and it appears that they are back!!! Argh. Are lives are running parallel once again.

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    • Marilyn Armstrong
      03/31/2018 • 15:44

      They are so yucky. They are essentially harmless. They aren’t termites, so they aren’t going to make your house fall down, but they are disgusting and I hate them hate them hate them.

      Yeah. Parallel. Yuck.

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      • lifelessons
        03/31/2018 • 17:26

        Although carpenter ants don’t eat wood, they do damage it to make ants.. and they make a tremendous mess.. especially in areaa where thousands of small objects are stored.. as in my studio.

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        • Marilyn Armstrong
          03/31/2018 • 19:59

          Oh, I agree. And they get into everything, including my hair, which I truly loathe. Kitchens are the worst. Speaking of lots of little things?

          Anyway, Mr. Pest Control say he can get them gone and keep them gone and he will also handle all the OTHER bugs we get here. Living in the woods is bug central.

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  10. Martha Kennedy
    03/31/2018 • 13:49

    I used to put Ajax or a similar abrasive cleanser in front of their entry points. It kept them at bay until a better solution came along.

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    • Marilyn Armstrong
      03/31/2018 • 14:34

      I am told the answer is Windex. At least inside. Getting the hills removed and spraying every entry point will get rid of them. After they finished last year, we literally didn’t see another ant until this spring. We also have to deal with the mice. Our problem isn’t as bad as other people we know, but we’ve got a fair number of them. Their goal is to chase them out of the house if at all possible and send them back where they belong, but if that doesn’t work, well … more drastic action will have to be used. But goal one is to get them to flee. Also, the poisons they use are harmless to creatures other than insects as soon as they dry, so they won’t hurt the birds or the dogs or any of the visiting creatures.

      By the way, I’ve heard cornmeal works pretty well, too. Also, apparently if you pour cornmeal into an ant hill, it kills them.

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  11. Garry Armstrong
    03/31/2018 • 13:32

    The dogs, unlike us, didn’t seem bothered by the Ants. A conspiracy?

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    • Marilyn Armstrong
      03/31/2018 • 14:30

      Dogs don’t care about the bugs. The only thing they really didn’t like were all those caterpillars. They didn’t like them in their coats. Otherwise, they don’t live in the same universe.

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    • omniclassic
      03/31/2018 • 15:48

      Dogs are much more realistic about stuff like this. They figure ants gotta live too. A few sucked up during a water lapping session ain’t gonna make a big difference in the world.., know what I mean?

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  12. swo8
    03/31/2018 • 13:07

    Haven’t seen one yet today, but I know they are there……..
    Leslie

    Liked by 1 person