Ants.
Fucking ants. Why did it have to be ants?
Big ol’ pile of them crawling all over the last remaining cat food kibble when I went to fill the bowl this morning. Also another big hunk o’ ants under the bowl. So I killed me a bunch of ants and cleaned the floor and washed my hands three times and moved the cat food into the kitchen because in the past, the ants have not followed. (I normally feed them in the downstairs bathroom.)
Then I make my coffee and sit and drink and by the way, this morning I lost a pair of shoes. I know, that’s weird. Last week I wore these cute black sandals with a gold ring that would go perfectly with what I’m wearing today and this morning I couldn’t find them in my closet. So after I drank my coffee I went to see if I’d left them in the living room and I notice Fanty poised at the bathroom door looking Very. Alert.
So I look and sure enough the floor is crawling with ants. Very busy ants. They appear to be building a city. Some have little hard hats.
So this isn’t the first time I’ve had ants in that exact spot, and what that means is I know where to find the Raid. Fuck you if you think I shouldn’t spray poison because hey? Ants.
ant baits
bleach; eucalyptus oil; finding their entrance spot and dousing with either or both. Dr Bronner’s eucalyptus soap gets ’em very well too.
ants in the house, yuck
In the one bit of organization that my brain conducts, I get my ant traps/baits/whatevers prior to the warming weather. Look ma, no ants. When I’ve forgotten… SOL.
Looks like a stop at the store on the way home.
yup. Baits. Put them where curious paws won’t get them…Lucy freaked me out last year when she managed to reach the one under the microwave cart & was playing with it.
Thankfully, the stuff isn’t toxic to kitties.
Well, the store was sold out of baits. Which oddly makes me feel better. Because if everyone has need of ’em, then it’s not somehow my fault.
its usually my fault. Charlie says they worship me cus I leave breadcrumbs when I cut a bagal.
Barbs has a point in a way: find the attraction and remove both it and the ant trails, with a vacuum, soapy water and/or cleaners – I’ve found that ants hate window cleaner spray. Caulk entry points if you can find them. Plant an ant-attractor like Cotoneaster at the furthest point of your land (or on someone else’s land if possible – Cotoneaster seems to work for most ants in England, but I expect other plant varities may work better for other species of ants) and see if you can make the horrible things go there instead. They can do some good outdoors, but you don’t want them in the house.
Just found http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7411.html which looks interesting.
Unfortunately, MJ, the attractor is cat food, and that has to stay out and exposed.
Why does it have to stay out and ant-accessible? I can’t find them now, but I’m sure I’ve seen various collar-triggered cat dishes that seal airtight when the cat’s not nearby.
This tale didn’t end well, though: http://www.apetsblog.com/pets-journal/cats-ants-and-cat-food.htm
Putting the cat food dish in a water bowl with a little lemon juice sounds like a clever trick: http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Ants-From-Cat-Food
If you wish, maybe you could try diatomaceous earth or maybe mint…
These are tiny little black ants. When I lived out in the country we had bigger ants, different species or whatever, but none of the natural remedies worked for shit.