Thursday, May 6, 2010

Simple Pleasure Thursday and Tiniest Huge Problem

My simple pleasure is my backyard. We've got gorgeous birds, tons of plants, and now two, yes, TWO producing asparagus beds. Once started, they can propagate for up to 25 years. I was able to take my book outside, enjoy the weather, listen to the birds, and watch the world go by. It is sooo peaceful.

As peaceful as my evening was, my night has been very stressful. We now have a full blown ant problem. Our neighbor mentioned that the homes had a problem the other day, but I wasn't too concerned. I now see what he meant.

I decided that, in honor of tomorrow being Friday, I'd make cupcakes for my department. I got the cupcakes made, and was letting them cool to ice them. A few minutes later, I go in, and they are SWARMING with ants. I'm not talking about 5, 10, or even 15, but maybe 50 ants on 9 cupcakes. They were IN the cupcakes. So, out they went. I feel like they're crawling all over me even though they seem to be confined to the basement and kitchen.

I've read online that people swear by everything from poison to cornmeal, borax to chalk, even honey and cinnamon. What do you do when you have ants?

7 comments:

  1. spray their enterance with bleach. We found it to work better than anything.

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  2. Borax worked well for us last year! I sprinkled it in the cracks in the sidewalk and garage where they like to hang out and they were gone within a week.

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  3. I'm a little concerned about the animals with borax. I think we'll put it outside around the underside of the deck where they can't get to it. I will definitely try the bleach and lavender though. Thanks!

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  4. I understand your concern, but equal parts borax, yeast and powdered sugar works. I've been told by an old and wise friend that they take this back to their nest because the sugar is a food. I'm no expert but this has worked well at Casa Osborne.

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  5. Ugh. I'm cringing at the ants thing. Yes, borax works well. or if you're ruthless and you know where the nest is, pour boiling water down it.

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  6. Oh, they do drive me nuts. I've been trying to avoid them as much as possible. It looks like I'll have to go the borax route and try to keep the cats out of the kitchen. Thanks for all the great comments!

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