Well, I suppose everyone should have a pet, or 2 or 3,000.
And I definitely know what to feed them.
A herd of ants made themselves at home in my cupboard this morning, giving special attention to a box of cereal.
I suspect we’ve all had an ant visit this summer. When it gets hot, they seem to prefer some air conditioning.
I thought the first few were looking for water, as they showed up in the bathroom. They may have been looking for a faucet today, but they got thoroughly sidetracked by the aforementioned cereal.
After taking everything out of the cupboard, searching for where they were coming in, I was still puzzled. They were in one corner only (aside from the cereal box). I wiped down everything but still hadn’t found the trail.
But as I was cleaning the top shelf, I glanced at the ceiling and there they were, marching one by one, coming out of a corner of the ceiling. I fear my entire kitchen wall may be an ant farm.
So now my kitchen looks like an explosion in a maternity ward store room. My go-to choice of nontoxic ant suppressant is baby powder. I thoroughly poofed it on my ceiling, my cupboard doors, my cupboard floors and walls. It smells nice, but it is something of a mess.
I don’t really care, because it works really well. I can vacuum it up later.
Now I am keeping a close eye on food storage areas, because I know they will figure out another way in eventually. But I am ready.
I want to keep a full bottle of baby powder in a holster on my hip. I’ve got my Johnson’s and I know how to use it.
Jean Gillette is a
freelance writer just defending her fort. Contact her at [email protected].
