It usually starts with a couple ants showing up to snoop around the kitchen. They wait for the right moment (usually when a stray crumb is left on the counter) so they can then signal their other little friends to come and join the ant party. From then on, their pesky little presence is a permanent part of my life until the weather cools down again.
I am so sick of them already. Even when I clean up the kitchen for the night and make sure that there is nothing for the ants to snack on, I'll still wake up and find ants in the sink or on the counter, congregating around an invisible crumb or drop of juice.
They are driving me crazy, and I don't know how to get rid of them. When they first started showing up, I tried to find some non-poisonous ways to keep them away. (I can't be spraying Raid all over the kitchen, since humans and food tend to hang out in there).
I read somewhere that ants have an aversion to spices like cayenne pepper and cinnamon, so I decided to try it out. I was about to sprinkle cayenne pepper on the edges of the counter, but I changed my mind because I didn't want anyone to inadvertently touch the cayenne and then their eye.
So I sprinkled some cinnamon instead. It didn't work. The ants just laughed.
And let me tell you, if you inadvertently touch cinnamon and then you touch your eye---it really, really hurts, probably just as much as cayenne would. I had to find that out the hard way. I think the ants laughed again.
So then I remembered reading something saying that ants will not cross a white powdered line. So I got some of Michael's baby powder and went crazy with it. I sprinkled it all over the counter and went to bed.
When I woke up, there were no ants. It worked! And the powder even provided a nice scent for the kitchen: freshly-diapered-bottom scent.
Since it worked, I left the powder there for a couple days, until Mig finally asked if the powder was going to stay there forever. So I cleaned it up. Big mistake. The ants have been showing up with more and more of their friends, and I'm about to lose my mind.
We've sprayed outside around the perimeter of the house, but even that hasn't helped.
Anyone have any better ideas on how to deal with the ants?
There is this powder stuff that ants dont like except I cant think of the name. It is specifically for ants and can be found in Home Depot. You would put it around the perimeter of your house, you cannot put it inside your house. They take it back to their home and it destroys the colony. So if you are wanting to do the nice thing then this is not it! If you want me to find out the name of it I can let you know
ReplyDeleteWell my mom had this theory that insects don't like anything sour such as lemon juice, so I've tried leave pieces of sliced lemon around the area they were. It SEEMED to work at first but then I think they became immune to it because one morning I woke up and they were walking all over the lemons. I guess one of the ants heard the phrase, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade," and went with it. Thanks mom. The best thing that has consistently worked for us if buying ant traps. They are shaped exactly like the little black roach traps, but you need to put them somewhere it is safe. That has been the best solution for us, they usually disperse soon after we place them around the problem areas. If this doesn't work, just remember that ants are not nearly as bad as roaches! Ewwwwwwww.
ReplyDeleteAwww man I made some typos. But I'm sure you know what I was trying to say.
ReplyDeleteI hate ants!!!
ReplyDeleteI called a bug man ( that's actually the name of his business)
anyway and they set some traps around. I have had no ants for 2 yrs. now. KNOCK ON WOOD!!!
That's so funny you wrote an ant post. I'm sitting here blog hopping and I see a huge ant crawling around so I finally get my butt up to get it. Then I sit back down and think 'why is there an ant in the house?' Then the next minute I drop one of my chips I'm eating on the floor and I realize I leave it there because I know that one of the dogs will find it and clean it up for me!
ReplyDeleteI spray outside and have traps inside. It seems to work IF you nip it in the bud when they first come in. I've had terrible problems in the past and they really chewed up Bella one year! Ant bites reallllly hurt!!!
ReplyDeletelol! I love the way you articulate yourself in your posts. Especially the way you throw some humor in..."The ants just laughed." hehe
ReplyDeleteKeep it up. Its always fun to read your blog :)