Tuesday, March 22, 2011

tuesday's true confession: apparently ants live in texas too!

I've never reposted before, but I am today because it's Tuesday . . . and it's been far too long since I've confessed anything.  And there is an incredible sense of irony in the fact, that this is my very first Tuesday's True Confession and I can pretty much confess the EXACT SAME THING that I did in my very first Tuesday's True Confession in my old state.  Let's just say that I woke up this morning to about 100 little ants coming through a crack in the caulking of our back door.  I opened said door to find a GIANT ant hole as high as the threshold of our back door that is the cozy home to probably a thousand ants.  My three year old and I spent the entire morning waging battle with the ants.  Now, she just walks around the house with her eyes darting across the floor looking for ants.   Picture me trying to explain to her that when the ants are outside in their home, she should leave them alone and not stomp on them . . . but when they are in our home, we stomp, squish, spray and basically annihilate them.   

Poor kid is damaged for life!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm grossed out.  You will be too, but please don't judge me.  I found an ant.  Not outside in the grass or on the sidewalk, but in . . . my . . . kitchen!  And not just on the floor, but in . . . a . . . cabinet!  And we all know that there is NEVER just ONE ant.  I confess (This technically isn't my true confession for today.) that I am not a person who cleans the house everyday, but please believe me . . . our house is clean.  Not spic-and-span-so-you-can-eat-off-the-floor clean, but at least I'm-not-going-to-find-an-ant-crawling-in-a-cabinet-at-11:30-at-night clean.  So, like I said, please don't judge me.  

As a result, I did something that I have wanted to do and needed to do for a long time.  I took everything out of the cabinets, scrubbed everything in serious scrubbing fashion and put everything back in a neat and orderly way. 

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

I started doing this at 11:30 PM, so it was a late night.  I just couldn't go to bed wondering if there were more of those little pests running around in there.  Thankfully (I think), I didn't find anymore, but now every time I walk into the kitchen or open a cabinet I'm expecting to find an ant.  HELP!  I don't want to use toxic pesticides just for peace of mind, but does anyone know of a toxic-free way to keep these little critters away? 

Here's my true confession . . . I'm a hypocrite.  You see, whenever I find a spider or other crawly little bug in the house, I gently scoop it up and put it outside where it belongs.  I know, weird.  I'm fully aware that this is completely bizarre behavior, but I just can't bring myself to kill them.  I even have my girls trained now to come get mommy when they find a spider so we can rescue it and put it outside.  But there is something in me . . . something deep down inside of me that cannot muster up the same compassion for ants.  I'll just say it . . . I HATE ANTS - not outside-type ants, but any ant found in my house is definitely in danger and should fear for its life. 

I guess I should thank that little ant because it helped me mark a to-do off my list that I've been putting off.  At least my cupboards are cleaned, and now I can do what I like to do and . . .

confess on!

60 comments:

Debra Hawkins said...

I can sympathize. I have no compassion for roaches. I will be nice to other insects but the war is on with roaches.

Polly @ Pieces by Polly said...

Ants make me crazy...so far so good for this house...although maybe I'd rather have them than the black widows in the garage and yard...

chris said...

Beware the fire ants in Texas. They are vicious. I have scars from an attach 13 years ago!

Dominique @ Craft Couture said...

when I lived in Texas I was always getting attacked by fire aunts when i went outside then one night they some how got in my kitchen! it was crazy! So I feel your pain lol, & I agree with the ew with them being in the house and deff. the kitchen!

Willefam said...

I have a reoccurring ant problem (one problem of apartment living) - Just found one yesterday in fact!!! In my kitchen too!!!

Last year, I found the only thing that kept them away was spraying WD 40 along the bottom edges of everything in the my kitchen. I spray the minute I see one and that is all I see:)

Heather said...

We have ants in Hawaii too, though most of them aren't the biting kind so I just leave them alone. They come inside for shelter during the rainy season and for water during the dry season--figures! Roaches and mosquitoes are my enemies, though! Luckily I haven't had to battle it out with any of them since moving to this house, but I'm keeping my eyes open. ;)

Maydijo said...

We live in the middle of nowhere, and this is the time of year the mice start coming inside. And this year they've been bad. I have a solution, if only the mouse king would come to the party: I completely understand they have a right to live. And I completely understand their desire to stay warm and to give their little mice families a nice, warm shelter. I am perfectly happy to build them a little mouse house - way out in the back paddock somewhere - if they, in return, pledge to stay out of my house.

So far, it hasn't worked. So instead we've been laying down baits. I don't like it, because I really do believe they have a right to stay alive. But not in my house.

Larri said...

Can't stand them either! We had them at our last house, and thank goodness, haven't seen them at our new house. Here's my tried and true method for getting rid of them...BORIC ACID. It's the stuff that's in Borax. You can find it at WalMart near the pharmacy. Just get you a little bottle (probably around $4). There are two ways to use it...poor a line of it outside the threshold of your door, and just leave it. If you're worried about the girls (or pets) getting into it, try this one...mix a little of the boric acid with some jelly and put it into a couple of straws. Place those outside your door. It will take a couple of weeks to kill the entire colony, but it does work. Good luck! :o)

Three Birds Inspired said...

Ants make me cry. Seriously. Ants have NOTHING to do with clean. When I lived in Seattle, you could eat off my kitchen counters or even my kitchen floor. (I am a bit of a fanatic.) And yet, the ants appeared. I would chase them down with Windex, spray them into submission and then squash up with a paper towel. I would follow that with a bleach and water solution I kept in a spray bottle. I would turn my back and when I looked again - more ants! They magically appeared. It nearly drove me insane. I cried because they made me crazy. Because my sig other didn't want to see me freaking out, he hired someone to spray under the house. Apparently those little "sugar ants" or whatever the heck they are lived in the dirt under the house, would work their way up the studs into the house, find a tiny crack and sneak in.

Boric acid absolutely will take care of the problem without chemicals. It does take about two weeks. As noted in the post above, the suggestion about boric acid, jelly and straws is a GREAT idea.

Kimra said...

i live in san antonio and have been having huge ant problems. even after i scrub scrub scrub, they're still showing up in the kitchen and my bathroom! At first I freaked, but they're actually very interesting to watch. They're so silly! But they do carry staph infection, so, i would suggest getting some Terro ant bait. You just put the sugary liquid on a cardoard piece, it attracts the ants, and poisons the colony. I think the website said it's safe because the main ingredient is borax or something like that.

Beverly {Flamingo Toes} said...

I'm right there with you!!!
Our area in CA has a terrible problem with ants. I don't know if it's the sand or what. But they are always out there - ti's so frustrating.
About 2 months ago we had a terrible attack and they came in and took over the dining room. It was awful. We got them beat back but man it was frustrating!! ;)

Sandi Linn Andersen said...

Oh, ants have no place in the house! I am not fond of ants. We had them in the kitchen in our previous home and so far none here. Hoping that continues. I could tell you a really gross ant story but maybe another day. :-)

Jodi said...

I'm not found of ants at all. In my house, in my yard -- though I tolerate them on my peony... I just found 2 in my bathroom -- haven't seen a single ant in the kitchen (which I'm sure is no where near as clean as yours.) I'm not even sure what to clean out of the bathroom to keep the ants out!

Vanessa at Rescued Goods said...

I mix half borax half sugar and leave in little bowls around (not where kids can reach). Supposedly they won't cross lines of talcum powder. Also, if they eat hot pepper (like the ones in the shakers at restaurants) they will die supposedly.
-Vanessa

Patti @ Pandoras Box said...

whole cloves, scattered around, repel ants!

Patti @ Pandoras Box said...

ants will also NOT cross a line of white chalk - try it on the sidewalk to amuse yourself....find an ant and draw a chalk circle around it...he will spin in circles!!

Rachel said...

Ok, so this has nothing to do with ants (BTW, in WA state I have never been bothered with ants, but living in NM was very bothersome with insect pests. That is why I love, love, love it here in WA!) So, I just read that one of my favorite blogs is stopping/slowing down so I just want to make my request, as your blog being the VERY first blog I read and loved, to not make that sad decision. WE miss you! good luck settling in.

Tammy @ she wears flowers said...

Ahhh...you are in TX for sure now! You are "lucky" it is only ants! There are just so many bugs there--it's hard to keep them at bay. Good luck!

michelle's 10 things said...

I read that Cream of Wheat is toxice to ants. When we looked it up, we found that yep, it is. As well as corn meal (which is cheaper, and can be bought in bulk. Good Luck.

Billie said...

I was told about regular old baking soda. Tried it and it killed them pretty quickly.

Heather Benza said...

Gross I think spiders in my domain deserve to die too. If they want to live they need to stay where they belong..beyond my property line. Now about the ants. Not long ago as I changed my baby's diaper ON HIS CHANGING TABLE an ant scurried by. With shock and horror I investigated and discovered a literal army of ants going down the side of the dresser, across the floor to the baseboard, one and a half walls worth of baseboard (the wall with the crib and half a wall with the changing table) and down into the corner covered by wall to wall carpet. When did I discover this..as I was ready to put my baby to bed. AAHHH he could've been crawling with ants. I shudder even now. SO...I did some online blog scouring and discovered cinnamon and baby powder are supposed to work. I used baby powder since a food item seems like it will attract other things. I put traps out first where the ants crawl into the goo but none of the goo gets out. Then scrubbed, then used baby powder. I haven't seen any since. Good luck with your ant issue!

Maria@BubblegumandDuctTape said...

came by to see what you were up to. I took a long bloggie break and now noticed that you haven't posted in a while, is everything ok?

Erica said...

I will be nice to other insects but the war is on with roaches! Ewww!

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Simonita said...

what's going on???? haven't heard from you!!! are you okay?

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sajith said...

I hate cockroach. So dirty and whenever I see that I will do pest Control. Spiders I am not hating. But little bit affraid

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Kora said...

A couple weeks ago we moved from Illinois back to Texas. Before moving back we had stuff EVERYWHERE and not surprisingly some things got buried in the mix. Including a box of donuts I had asked my hubby to make sure to take into the kitchen. So one day I woke up to hundreds of ants crawling all over a donut and my love seat! *shiver*

I put out a neat little dish of cornmeal (not cornstarch). They can't digest it. They carry it back and it kills the colony. There were no ants the next day!! Every time I see an ant, I put out cornmeal. It sooooo works!

Best of luck!

Kora said...

A couple weeks ago we moved from Illinois back to Texas. Before moving back we had stuff EVERYWHERE and not surprisingly some things got buried in the mix. Including a box of donuts I had asked my hubby to make sure to take into the kitchen. So one day I woke up to hundreds of ants crawling all over a donut and my love seat! *shiver*

I put out a neat little dish of cornmeal (not cornstarch). They can't digest it. They carry it back and it kills the colony. There were no ants the next day!! Every time I see an ant, I put out cornmeal. It sooooo works!

Best of luck!

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