One day last week, I got up, wandered my groggy ass into the kitchen, and discovered that the plates in the sink were literally black with ants.
Grr!
We have always had an ant problem in this house, and usually it's at its worst when it's raining out. This was the worst I have ever seen it, and it was not even raining.
Now, my first instinct is to grab a can of spray poison and let 'er rip.
Except that we now have a small herd of cats that enjoy spending time (and licking things) in the kitchen.
Also, this is my kitchen. Where I enjoy storing eatables and eatables-related items. I was in no mood for doing a thorough kitchen de-poison.
Fortunately, I remembered reading something online about a natural concoction to get rid of ants, so I hunted down the website and did a little mixing.
Into a large plastic cup I put one cup of warm water, one half cup of sugar, and two tablespoons of Borax. Mixed well with a cocktail stirrer, and soaked it up with some cotton disks (the flat, round ones). I put a couple of the balls in different areas near where the ants where traveling, and left it be.
I was a little concerned, because, the next day, we still had ants. Significantly fewer and mostly hanging around those balls, but still. Ants. I felt better about it, though, because there were as many dead ones as live, so I left the balls alone and went about my business.
This morning, when I staggered into the kitchen, I discovered something a little surprising.
Not one ant.
Not even an ant carcass.
Gone.
Sweet!
I have no idea if they took the syrup back to the colony and wiped everyone out, or if they just ran like hell to find a less poisonous house.
Frankly, I don't really care.
There are no ants in my kitchen.
Huzzah!
And now you can have an ant-free house this winter, too.
You're welcome.
4 comments:
Very cool. I will have to remember that one!
"Ant Bully"
Watch it.
Snort.
Really I'm right there with you on ants. Can't stand them in the house. Ya done good! I'll have to come back here when (not if) the little darlings invade here in Tejas.
I'm very amused that my word verification is mesesses
very cool. Congrats to you! Ants can be a regular pain in the tuckus. Here we have European Fire Ants. They stay in the yard, but they bite fiercely and live in complex mounds underground. Outdoor activities must be active - no sitting still out there or you'll get bit. The poor pooch can't lay in the grass for long without getting bit. And they HURT.
I'm surprised you didn't find that remedy on PBE. I've used it for years...although recently I've used the gel stuff at the back of the cabinets to keep them at bay...out here in the Wild Wild West.
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