Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Autumn asks: Got ants?


Yesterday I didn't get anything done on my list. But it was nice out so I decided to go out front and weed the front bed and actually get the rest of the mulch down that we finally bought. I know its the end of summer, but we decided to use that rubber mulch stuff and we just couldn't pay for it all at once so we've had to spread it out. And Mighty Mouse was being very co-operative and helpful and was playing nicely outside -- and then went down for a nap so I actually did what I thought would be a 3 day job in one day.

Of course I could hardly move by the time I was finished. It was definitely an muscle relaxer, pain reliever, anti-inflammatory type night. So I took the edge off and was very self-satisfied.

Then Mighty Mouse needed a before bed snack. I grumbled about dragging myself off of the couch but I did it. MM picked Ritz crackers for her snack and we headed for the table. I reached in and pulled out a package of crackers...crawling with ants. And my hand was crawling with ants. Being a little slow and relaxed I looked down and thought..."Well, that's gross".
So daddy came to the rescue. He pulled the pantry apart and sprayed. We checked all the boxes and we only found one other that had been violated. Get this -- they only hit the Ritz and the Honey Bunches of Oats. The only two name brand things in my pantry(that ants would get into). These guys must have hitch hiked home with me from a much better neighborhood.
So today was spent ripping apart the pantry from bottom to top. Scrubbed the floor and the shelves. Redid the bakers rack. Accidentally pulled one of the hanging baskets out of the ceiling. (Next thing I need to fix.) And then decided now was a good time to rearrange since Songbird can't put the appliances away correctly to save her life.
I had to make a few runs into town for some storage stuff to try and keep this from happening again. I found some cool containers at Tuesday Morning that a snack cracker box fits right into. And it took all day because I had at least a million phone calls to keep me off task. But now, at 10:00 at night I am finally finished with it. Of course it looks great and I really should take a picture because the first time my kids go in there......

Now, I knew how to deal with the ants in Nebraska. How do I deal with the ones in Texas? I did some internet research and figured out they are the pharaoh ant (otherwise known as piss ants). I also found out that this type of ant rarely lives in the dirt...they prefer buildings, light sockets, whatever. So...doesn't that mean they are somewhere IN my house? Maybe the walls or between the brick facade and the drywall or something? I hope I read that wrong.

If anyone has any good ideas on how to get rid of these suckers please let me know. Because I'm telling you, there is only one type of ant I want to find in my pantry.

5 comments:

  1. Aaargghhh! Terro syrup. Get thee to the store and get some. It will wipe out those nasty little buggers post haste.

    Great pics!

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  2. Autumn- I'm so sorry to hear about this problem for you! As if you haven't had enough to deal with lately! Just remember that this is a season, and things are bound to get better soon. I'm sorry I don't know anything about ants or how to get rid of them, but I will certainly pray for you to find a solution- quickly!

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  3. The only thing I can tell you is to smash them with your thumb one...at...a...time... Ok, not really. I have used the Ortho Home Defense Max before and it worked. I sprayed around the inside and outside perimeter.

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  4. Sorry to hear that. This last spring when it was so dry we were getting ants. Had a couple of good trails going through the garage and front door.
    Spray with vinegar and it should keep most bugs away. Equal was originally developed as a ant killer and works great. I use it on the fire ant hills and they go away. Sometimes it takes twice. Sometimes for ants it needs to get damp. Borax is a good barrier and the ants hate it. You can also buy diomascus (not sure on spelling)earth. This will cut bugs' exoskeleton and they will dehydrate and die.
    As far as if they are in your wall, sorry I'm not sure what you can do. Maybe you can make a solution or just set out the Equal in a tray and they can take it back to the colonies and kill the queen.
    I found this articles also
    http://www.pestcontrolcanada.com/INSECTS/pharaoh_ants.htm This one says to make sure that they aren't thief ants since they look the same but are even HARDER to control (not good news)
    Mary

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  5. Oh yeah, and you don't smash ants because they send a chemical out that brings MORE ants to come check it out.

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