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The war has begun. Again. In earnest. They're on the march, you see.
They've breached my defenses.
Ants!
I am tired of the battle. Old and war worn. I'd like to ignore them.
But I can't. When I pick up a dish and swarms of them scatter from under, my ire rises and I put on the kettle.
The clever little plastic ant baits are placed. Do they work? I have not noticed. There are still plenty of the tiny intruders, in their relentless lines, probing and making entry. I won't give up the house to them! I won't use the sprays and poisons that kill everything.
I pick up bricks outside my front door, my tea kettle steaming in the other hand and when I see them teeming underneath, by the thousand, the pot of hot water is released upon them. The end is quick. But there are more waiting to replace the dead. Their dead become their food. Fine by me.
These ants live only a couple of weeks at most. The males have even shorter lives. They attack and enslave other ant colonies and keep aphids as cows or to slaughter. They are ruthless as we are, as I am.
It has been said the entire ancient lake bed that is now the mid valley of Oregon is an ant hill. I believe it. We all do who live here.
A is for ANTS!
Read up on them here.
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A is for amazing! XD Haha when I was thinking of what I could do for my "A" post, the word "ants" kept popping into my mind, but I thought, "No, what could I possibly say about ants that's interesting or entertaining?" But this! Haha I love this! We don't get ants in our house that often, but every once in a while, the summer months bring an infestation of the little buggers. Yuck. :P Good luck in your ant war, and congrats on your writing skills! I could read a whole book about you fighting the ants. XD
ReplyDeleteThe little buggers! I admit to obsession in the war. I should be able to win it, being so much bigger and allegedly smarter. Ha! Thanks for stopping by, Rachel!
DeleteAnts in the house make my skin craw. Literally. Shudder. The cleaner Simple Green kills them instantly and keeps them away. They don't like mint either. Untethered Realms
ReplyDeleteThe dollar store here I think has the Simple Green. Thanks for the tip, will get some and try it. I've tried the mint oils even grow mint out front, but....doesn't help, not that I can tell. I've tried the coffee grounds along the house too.
DeleteYou have joined the challenge? Much more effort than I can muster.
ReplyDeleteAnts bite me. The bites swell up into ugly, itchy blotches. I really don't like them. At all.
I heard somewhere that the number of worms in a paddock will outweigh the cows above them. I bet the same is true of the biting beasts as well.
Humans are sooooo much less significant than we try and tell ourselves...
Yes, I did, EC. On a whim, last second! Oh no, ants bite you? These little guys don't bite that I know of. But they number in the hundreds of thousands and I think Dead Jack's place is alive in them, from what I can tell. He used to say they came out the electric outlets and I thought "yikes".
DeleteI am so, so glad that I've never had a huge problem with them.
ReplyDeleteI bet you are happy, to not have an ant problem. I hope you never do!
DeleteIn the fifteen years we have been in the highrise, we have only had ants once when they decided depilatory wax was good food. I am surprised they climbed up so high and surprised we have never seen one since. Years ago we used little tin dishes with Ant Rid in them. The only thing harmed was ants, but of course cats might like the flavour too. So what is next? B for bees?
ReplyDeleteThose were determined ants to get way up in a high rise. I usually have them at bay, and they stay outside. Full scale war results if they don't. If they remain outside, I don't bother them. I had hoped they would learn, over time. There are so many "B" words of note and relevant. Bumblebee might be a good one, but I have another B word in mind.
DeleteAnts! Gosh, we haven't had any this summer but we were very lucky...a lot of people did have them though.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with them...
Happy Easter to you.
What kind down there, whiteangel, bother people? Happy Easter to you also. Are you having a big family dinner or anything?
DeleteOh we had them something fierce a few years back but thankfully the last couple years now as badly. I been told mint and I think cinnamon?? Saw the mint didn't work on yours. Persistent little things. Oy!
ReplyDeleteAnna @ herding cats & burning soup
I wonder, cinnamon. I can almost hear the discord that might spread. I will try it!
DeleteI just found your blog through the a-z challenge. Happy to find another cat lover :)
ReplyDeleteOh hey. I'll check out your blog, happily, a cat person. Just realized, I gotta do B today. Boy.
DeleteA really entertaining post! Ants - gotta be impressed by their ruthlessness, their military precision, their hive control - gotta hate their invasions and their bite!! (Following you on Bloglovin')
ReplyDeleteHa! Thanks!
DeleteStopping by for the A-Z Challenge -- have laughed quite a bit -- especially the bit about chasing down boy cats to remove their balls!
ReplyDeleteAs for the ants, I do buy the little poisonous pots and set them outside the house, under the windows.They work well, and I don't think the local wildlife even know they're there.
We had fire ants when we lived in Georgia, and those were VILE. Fighting was futile with those!
http://jolenemottern.com/
Thanks for coming by, getting behind already. I need a D post. Darn it. Fire ants, oh my, could not deal with those buggers.
Delete