So, we've got ants.
The first step to overcoming a problem is admitting it right?
Now what?!
I called Terminix but am skeptical. For one, they want to discuss everything over the phone and sign me up for a service plan before they even come out and assess the situation. I had requested what I THOUGHT was an in-home consultation - what I got was some smart ass calling me up at 7:15 in the evening. I was, in no-way-shape-or-form going to merely let some sales guy smoosh me over the phone into some service agreement.
When I asked if someone was going to come out, he kept insisting that we could discuss it all over the phone. At one point, the snarky man said, "You know you got a problem, that is why you called so why do you want someone to come out and SAY you have a problem?"
O.K. [enter expletive here] (yup I am almost getting R-rated here) I know NOTHING about ants. If I am going to shell out money for a service I want someone to come out and look at the actual insect and tell me what kind of ant it is, how it got into my home and how they plan on removing it from my home. Is it a carpenter ant that is eating my wood, is it a pharoah ant...come on here. I am not going to shell out hundreds of dollars to let you do your thing without giving me some information or peace of mind. Ass.
I AM NOT going to give you my bank account number and give you permission to waltz into my home with your sprays, baits, powders and poisons and just start shooting away.
For one - I have pets in the house. So we are going to need to discuss the process. I want to know what you are doing and how you are doing it. And I need to know that whatever you do won't harm my pets.
For two - how do I know that what you are going to do isn't any different than what I can do on my own? Yeah, got ya there don't I? That is the REAL issue isn't it?
Well, forget you. I'm going to Lowes and baiting up!
Readers, do you have any ant elimination tips I should take into consideration? Let me know!
6 comments:
I've had kitchen ants before and a few carefully placed (where pets couldn't get) traps did the trick. Good luck!
There are a few of those tiny little sugar ants(?) crawling on my kitchen counter right now. I'm telling myself it is just a summer thing, what with the back door being open for so long every day.
Yeah, I think they are just a small nuisance - not some huge infestation. It just gets irritating because they keep finding new ways to get into my home. I swear they are living in our walls now because the latest place the came out of is a teeny tiny little crack in the wall of our half bath in the MIDDLE of the house to get to the dogs' food.
We did go out and buy bait traps - so hopefully that does the trick and helps kill the colony.
We had been using a spray - not to kill the ants (I mean it DOES kill the ants) but it creates a boundary and stops them from coming in - lasts a few months) and it works, but they just find new ways to come in.
Sigh.
Thanks for all the tips and for listening to me rant! :)
I had mini-ants in my kitchen and just stood at the counter one day long enough to spy them using their "door." I blocked it w/ a natural paste of water and baking soda (ants don't like salt). Door closed! :)
Good luck!
We get them at times too. We have most food in airtight containers. I use mason jars alot for small bits pretzels and stuff, got any jars? I never leave food out. That's a tough one. I try to always rinse dishes and put in the dishwasher. The second biggest help was getting those little plastic ant traps and putting in the back of cabinets and behind furniture (where animals and children can't reach them). Lastly, (the hugest), spray around the perimeter of your house outside with ortho home defense for ants. It got so bad one year that I actually sat patiently and waited to see where they were coming from. Spray that area really good from the outside and see if there is a tiny crack that you can caulk. Pet food is many times to blame for attracting them. I was forever washing the bowls in the dishwasher and trying to only place out when it was time to eat, then putting away again. There might me a stand you can get that can help for the pet bowls. Good luck. Spraying the perimeter and the ant traps should help alot COMBINED.
I think they are attracted to windex, so you may try to clean surfaces with something else. They hate orange oil. I got a natural spray cleaner with orange oil from Ace when they were bad. Good luck!
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