Monday, July 25, 2011

We Have Ants . . . Again

Ants . . . again
It's true.  Once again, our patio is being taken over by ants.  Yuck.  At least the swarm is pretty small, unlike last time.  Last year's mega invasion had me dumping gallons of boiling water over the unsuspecting creatures without much lasting success, this year I have a better anti-ant measure.  A surefire method.  One that does not require any noxious chemicals.  Behold the natural(ish) solution:

Anti-ant measure

Grits.  Instant grits.

Last year a reader left a comment on my ant invasion post suggesting that I use instant grits instead of hiring an exterminator.  She said that once the ants take the grits back to their nest-mates (including the all-important queen), the moisture in the ants' digestive systems makes the grits expand, which in turn causes the ants to essentially explode.

I'm not sure how humane that is, but it seems far better than using chemicals.  What I do know is that when I used the grits last year, the ants disappeared virtually overnight, and we haven't seen them again until now.  So right now our patio is littered with instant grits, and I will feel much better when the ants are gone.

 How would you deal with an ant invasion?

"God had plunged them into a sea of joy."~ Ezra 6:22

7 comments:

  1. [...] I’m walking on air. I’m laughing at my rivals. I’m dancing my salvation.” ~ 1 Samuel 2:1 Fabulous Related Posts:My [Latest] Source of Blogging Distraction Last time it was art.  This [...]

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  2. gah! i had ants in the spring coming out of a crack in my counter. they eventually got bored or something, but we did start getting a regular pest control service that helps with all the bugs in the house...spiders, 'pedes, ants, etc.

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  3. ps sorry about your ant issue beth :(

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  4. Oh goodness! I would have FREAKED OUT if I found loads of ants indoors. *shudder* Glad that the pest control service dealt with that!

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  5. I've heard leaving cups of water around also works..they drown. That seems less fair than grits. At least they go happy.



    PS- Thanks for sharing that Ephesians passage. Wow.

    ReplyDelete
  6. [...] I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.” ~ Philippians 5:14 Splendidly Similar:We Have Ants . . . Again It's true.  Once again, our patio is being taken over [...]

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