Tetramorium Caespitum

My original plan was to talk about going out for drinks with the girls last night and then an incredibly fun game of Hide and Seek our guild played. Perhaps a later post, at least for the Hide and Seek. I had even written part of it in my head this morning. But of course life is what happens while you're making other plans.

Spring has sprung here in Iowa. I can tell in two ways. First happened last week or so. The red-wing blackbirds came back to the state. Robins winter here now so they are not a good indicator of spring.

The other happened this morning....Ants. Pavement Ants to be precise. Each year in the spring and once in the fall we deal with three or four days of ant infestation. The whole complex suffers the same fate. So I woke up this morning to find that there were ants wandering through my kitchen and enjoying the cat's food. Now I'm normally a live and let live person. I have a pact with the resident spiders. They stay on the ceiling and I don't let the cat eat them. Once they come down to my level, they're fair game. But the ants drive me crazy. I know they don't really hurt anything and they just come for the cat food. But...well I'm not letting them live. I've been known to stand in the kitchen with a paper towel just waiting for them to appear so I can smoosh them. I become a serial killer of ants.

So I spent this morning vacuuming and scrubbing. I cleaned up the major infestation and now will have to deal with the stragglers. I know that I should have a professional company come in but I've seen their prices. Plus I don't like the idea of hazardous chemicals being sprayed in my kitchen. Call me old fashion that way. Most websites say that they they are tough to prevent even with the professional spraying. Ants are just fast adaptors. I laid down some cinnamon at the spot they were getting in and I'll pick up some baited traps on the way home. We've gotten good at treating them.

I consider it just one of the hazards of living so close to a creek. I love having that creek access and the open natural areas. I love that the hummingbirds come in the summer and the deer wander into the complex year round. I love that I can step out onto my patio and watch a raccoon wander by. I guess I'll just have to live with the ants. They are only occasional visitors.

Killing ants

I have an ant problem. A relatively frustrating ant issue. Now I'm a big believer in letting things live. I try not to hurt bugs in general but these ants have made things personal. The worst part is that that they are not even in the house. Yes I'm killing ants outside. 

Before you start asking no there is no magnifying glass. No poison. I'm using water. The problem is that I have started feeding hummingbirds. Hummingbirds eat sugar water, as do ants. I had absolutely no problem when they just came to the feeder, ate from the outside and went away. I even told people that I didn't mind feeding everyone. Then they started climbing into my feeder. Literally into the little whole in the feeder and dying in my sugar water. Let me tell you there is nothing more disgusting then coming home to find a layer of dead ants floating on the surface of my sugar water. I have to clean out the feeder, along with the ants still alive inside the feeder. It's awful. 

So I'm waging war. I have added a bit of water to a cup that sits above my feeder. An ant trap. The ants go into the water and drowned trying to get to the cord. No more ant problem. My hope is that the water will simply scare away the ants and I won't have all those tiny ant souls on my conscience. :-)