It's been four years now, four long hot summers...NO...let me take that back and say it's been the entire four years I 've lived here. It doesn't matter the time of year. cold, rain..name it! I have been on one long and miserable battle with ANTS!
I find them crawling in inch wide swaths across the driveway, garage floor (right up the tires to....who knows where as we do not eat in the car) ...they are in our bathroom, all over the kitchen counters, in the cupboards crawling on my dishes (now that REALLY makes me furious!) and just a few days ago, on my stove and in my pretty red Kitchen Aid coffee maker. My bathroom, PH's bathroom (did he get angry or upset AT ALL?? Oh, heavens no!
Enough was enough. The last straw was the coffee maker! I love my morning coffee and I DO NOT want ants in it!! So...I made my last plea. I said:
"Sweetheart, ( I said softly) ...we have spent hundreds of dollars over the past four years on Pest killers. I have risked my life, NO, honestly, I have risked my life spraying those little monsters, and I simply cannot take it any more. They crawl over poo poo ( ok, so maybe I didn't say poo poo because I was very frusterated after all) and I went on to say, ...and they eat dead things and now they are crawling all over our entire home. It's simply NOT healthy...(and at this point he looked a bit pale. I mean this is the man who rides his bike 13 miles a day and likes being healthy!) ...and, I said, it makes me sick to my stomach..so PLEASE, PLEASE call in the professionals. I am pleading here."
Silence.
Have I ever menioned that my husband is very, very stubborn? Well, I am mentioning it now!
I smiled and then (as per my blogname) I WHISPERED SWEETLY, "I simply cannot take this anymore." I think tears were dripping into the dishpan. Please remember, I have "suggested" getting help many times! Have I mentioned that my sweet husband is very frugal??? I kissed him gently on the cheek and went back to washing the dishes.
Yep, that very day he called in the big guns and on this Monday they came out! Nothing has made me this happy since I found out there really WAS a Santa Claus. :):)
*********
The man said it would take at least three days to see real results. From paths going up our walls over our fences, in the dogs dish (forgot to throw that one in!) it is down to just two nasty little critters this morning and that was out by the street.
They will be coming every two months..and if there is a problem in between all we do is call and they will come right out.
Thank you to my sweet and patient husband. Can't they be just so neat sometimes? I guess it just has to be their idea. *smirk*
My love to all of you,
Mona
p.s. I couldn't take the name of the truck...but...I am not affiliated with any Pest Control company at all.
i hate ants too. glad yours are gone!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has been having the same problem. Where in the world do they come from? She's tried all sorts of remedies to no avail. She may have to resort to professionals, as well. So glad you have won the battle!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, it does sound like you've had an incredible ant problem. I know they won't cross over a chalk line... I hope the pest control is 100% effective.
ReplyDeleteMona, You should write books. The way you write is so funny, I'm sitting here with tears running down my face from laughing. I know the ant problem is not funny. down right dreadful. Hopefully they won't come back.
ReplyDeleteBig Hugs
Kay
I hesitate to say this but we haven't had a problem in quite a while! I still see them outside but they seem to stay outside! I had the problem in the coffee maker before and that really did it for me too:) Happy that you got the problem fixed! HUGS!
ReplyDeleteWHen it comes to bugs in the house I think everyone has their limits. We have love bug season and they come in through every nook and cranny. Have not seen them yet this year, but they are horrible, and there is no known killer spray for them or natural predators that eat them so when the arrive everyone just groans and moans until they are gone again for another year. We have also had cicadas earlier this summer, but at least they were only outdoors, and one year we had lady bugs so badly that it was the first time in my life that I actually hated those cute little bugs. Have i mentioned that I'm rather sick of living in VIrginia with all of their stupid bug infestations?? YUK... Get me back north!!!
ReplyDeleteYou poor thing - I hate ants too. I used whole cloves once and spread them all around - seem to work for us - but I don't think we had them as bad!
ReplyDeletesandie
Oh- I hate ants in the house, too. Living by the bay we have to spray for spiders- I know- awful, huh? But they will take over everything if we don't. Good luck-and now you can have a picnic inside without fear of ants spoiling it!;>) xo Diana
ReplyDeleteMy husband is very very stubborn, so I feel your pain :) Glad he finally gave in.
ReplyDeleteYou will be so happy. We also have a bug man come every two months and we hardly ever have any bugs. But, if we do, they get a call and come right out. So happy for you!
ReplyDeleteI have heard an old time remedy is table salt.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are almost ant free. Merry Christmas!
Thank you, thank you Mr. PH . . . you scored big time in honoring Mona's "help cry!"
ReplyDeleteHope this does the trick . . .
I don't know why but this made me smile. We don't have ants here, well not in the house at the moment, but we do battle with mice and rats sparodically, plus all manner of insects. It does get on our nerves. Anyway, hope your ant prob is sorted. At least we that is one problem we don't have!
ReplyDeleteOh, Dear Mona! I hate those little buggers too! So glad your patient hubby got the hint! :) Where we live in this hot humid weather, you have to have a monthly service or we'd be infested with cock roaches and everything in between! Those cock roaches are almost as big as Chloe Dawn! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for you idea about the board to put behind my table to hide the cords! I love that and I'm on the lookout for a board now! You rock, Mona!! ;)
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
The ants send out SCOUTS to check things out - they leave a trail for others to follow and they do - once they get into your house, well only the experts can perhaps get rid of them. We have ants aboot the yard, but I keep an eye on them and spray in spring and fall and that keeps em away. We once had a new wall devoured by ants that had made a nest in the NEW wood. Had to take entire wall out of porch and build again. There were thousands of ants there, hence spraying twice yearly keeps them elsewhere. Nasty buggers, but if you track down their nests, which is easy enough to do and leave some nice poison lunch (Borax and wee amt of sugar) they take it all back to nest and everyone poo poo's themselves to death. Death to the Queen, hence, no more little buggers. Great Post Mona and glad PH got into the groove of ant removal :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you called in the big guns. That is the ONLY way daughter can control the ants at her house.
ReplyDeleteHope it works for you, too.
hugs, bj
Hi Mona,
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness...I do not like ants either at all!! We have our home sprayed once a month too. In our area we get (German Beetles) they look like roaches and live in the ground (they gross me out) and I freak out every time I see one (poor Gary). My mom and dad had the worse ant problem I have ever seem they called the exterminator out and they had to a drill hole in the kitchen wall to put poison in to kill the ants, there was a ant nest inbetween the wall.That did the trick no more ants. They sure are pestey little buggers.
Have a sweet day, Elizabeth
Mona I can sympathize with you on this. I live on a wooded hill. I have fought ants for years. Last year I put out little ant traps all over the kitchen and the porch. I never saw one get near the things. This year there are no ants in my house anywhere but they are making trails along the pillars and siding of the front porch. Little brown trails that look nasty. Clean them off and they will be right back. I guess I can stand them there better than I can handle them in the house! Maybe your problem is taken care of.
ReplyDeleteOh I hate those thins too. So glad yours will be gone. They drive me nuts. Hurrah for you. Hugs, marty
ReplyDeleteThis is the first year we've had problems with ants. I think the drought has something to do with it. If it continues I'm calling in the big guns...not even checking with the hubs! (He wouldn't mind though!) I hate ants! But first I'm trying the spraying around the garage and the foundation of the house..we'll see what happens!
ReplyDeleteWe live in FL and we also have problems with ants. After hubby had used can after can of bug spray with no results, I called an exterminator - and he has been coming here every other month for several years now. August seems to be a particularly bad month for ants here and they usually have to do an extra spraying to get rid of the creepy critters.
ReplyDeleteLast year we had an onslaught of ants in our kitchen that drove me "Buggy!" They kept getting in my dishwasher and under the cabinets. I t ride the more natural route to no avail, then we pulled out the chemicals on our own and those suckers bit the dust. This spring I had ant piles in our new landscape so I poured boiling hot water into the nest on two occasions and they never came back. Here's to my fabulous ant killing skills. LOL. We spray once a month both outside and in for anything else that may want to take up residence. Glad your ants are now history!
ReplyDeleteMona, we have the same problem annually at the onset of warm weather. Once we even saw ants coming thru the electrical outlets. Our solution is to call in a professional too and once he sprays the foundation and exterior areas and sets some bait traps we are usually OK. If not, he will return and retreat. We have only had to call him back once. The ants we have are looking for water and yes we have had them on the kitchen counters, near the sink and stove. Once I also found them in the dishwasher! Glad, PH saw the wisdom of professional treatment. Go and enjoy your cup of coffee now.
ReplyDeleteHi Mona! I hope you've got those old ants under control!
ReplyDeleteOh, you're just too kind about my sun porch. Yes, it's been like this for about a year.
You're just the sweetest,
Shelia ;)
Mona, Mona, Mona! I was looking at my Facebook this morning and someone had posted about killing ants! Immediately I thought of your problem with ants and went over to read it and thought you might like to see this too. I know I'm going to right this down and keep it when the little boogers show up again in my kitchen. Here's the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.crafterhoursblog.com/2012/05/dead-ant-dead-ant.html
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
Glad to see you are getting some ant relief!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. I'm delighted to meet you and am following you now. :)
All the best,
Lois
Mona, I was just on Pinterest and found this information. I don't know if you've tried it but here maybe a solution:
ReplyDelete16. Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it “home,” can’t digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works & you don’t have to worry about pets or small children being harmed!