I loved this missive and came running to read all the comments. But it looks like there are no friends in the comments bakery with me yet. As someone recently beset with ants (we finally have an 🐜 strategy after years of being thrown off each spring by their relentless marches) I feel this! Both the ants and how I feel sometimes like I live in a slightly-over-full controlled chaos that I feel like I can manage until one unexpected hiccup (ants, father in law goes to the hospital, the mower is broken) and then there tumbled the whole House of Cards™️ (another show I know I’ll never watch). I’m still trying to figure out the right amount between too much and not enough so I too can watch White Lotus. Thank you for illustrating all this so beautifully 🖤🐜
Any good tips for controlling ants? We have them too and it's very annoying. We don't want to use bug spray because they're taking over our kitchen counters and sink
We deal with rats. I know, gasp! What no one warns you is if you have chickens, you have rats. Three hens equals approximately 300 rats. I don't know how many really. But more than three. We don't kill things at our house, so no traps, no poison. We spent hundreds of dollars (twice) to hire people to rat proof. Didn't work. Rats can dig through copper mesh, wire mesh, gravel. They don't care. They're happy to work hard for their food which is really the chickens food. We moved the food, we took up the food, doesn't matter. You can buy rat birth control, which I did (again hundreds of dollars), but I could not afford the amount I needed to put out daily. SO, I looked up the ingredients, figured out a recipe, and now I bake "rat bars" every four days, and feed the rats birth control every single day. Is it working? hard to say. Hopefully it will cut down on the multiplying of rats, and eventually they'll die of old age, and we won't have as many even if they come from the neighbors (who also have rats whether they know it or not). I'll just keep baking birth control bars (which are safe for the hens, btw).
I swear by Terro ant traps, the ones with the liquid bait. We usually see a few ants in the summer, but the traps get rid of them easily. We do have pantry moths, though, and those are really hard to get rid of. They came with the house, and we can't seem to fully evict them.
Every spring, tiny black ants stroll around our kitchen counter. For a few years, I put little ant trap discs every few feet. I felt guilty, and the ants would sidestep the traps anyway. Now, we coexist. The only sacrifice I've made was to stop buying Entenmann's donut holes.They were an ant magnet on the counter. The donuts looked like they were sprinkled.
Not a lot in common this time except that I do like to get outside sometimes. And the ants. This is the first time I've had to check Wikipedia before leaving a comment here. (I'm not an expert on bugs). When we moved in here five years ago we had what I believe are called earwigs that invaded our bathroom occasionally. I sealed off a crack in the baseboard and they stopped coming in. But then ants started invading the bathroom, and my wife really hates ants. But the ants decided to stop coming in for some reason. Then there's the occasional mice problem in garage. I'm the one who really hates mice the most. We plugged in some electric repellent things and sticky traps and that keeps them out most of the time. And fortunately my wife has a super power of detecting exactly where dead mice are inside of walls. Our neighbors across the street have exterminators come once every month, which seems very excessive to me. I often picture mice running across the street to my house to escape them. I also have wondered if ants or earwigs can cross the street and I wonder why they would. But all of this pales in comparison to our year in Texas. We rented a brand new house and roaches🪳would invade the kitchen every night. Even worse, scorpions🦂would randomly drop out of ceiling vents and onto the brown carpet. (That's the last time we had brown carpet). Our daughter was an infant then and my wife had to keep a white blanket on the floor so our daughter wouldn't get stung. Scorpions are the worst. One thing I do miss about Texas is the lighting bugs (aka fireflies). They are beautiful and fascinating. My wife and I agree that butterflies🦋are the best insect.
Cinnamon works to get rid of ants. They were coming into my house via the back door and I put a line down along the outside point of contact. I did take care of the problem but you have to reapply after it rains.
Agree on the ants. Our house seems to crawl with them every year when the summer rains come and we can't figure out a way to stop it! I once came home to find a literal carpet of ants on my kitchen floor. It was like something out of a horror movie. 😱
I also feel like my fiance and I are in a period of juggling a few more things then we have the mental or emotional capacity for at the moment and yet we still manage to handle it all. I don't have show lists but I do have a TBR book that list that seems to only grow longer and never shorter!!
The show I’m recommending to everyone is andor (you don’t need the other Star Wars background), I think it’s one of the best shows ever done!
Also haven’t watched the most recent white lotus. I don’t know if I’m in the mood for that vibe! But also it would be a show I watch myself (without partner) and I’ve been up to other things lately! But I loved the Kristen bell show with guy from the oc 😍 haha. It’s a vibe, like if you like modern day romance novels, I think it’s that in tv form.
Also feel you on how sometimes things feel like there’s too much going on! Ants sound super frustrating. They work nonstop! What are the Reddit tips that seemed to be working? I usually use the terro ant poison and they usually die down after a day or week of that.
So sorry you were dealing with ants. What did you do to get rid of them? I remember when I taught second grade, they would go into my students' lunchboxes! And I remember writing on the whiteboard, and brushing them off my hands, gross!
This year we had foxes. They were neither invited nor uninvited, but they *were* welcome due to how last year our ecosystem (which involves a pretty intense garden) was overrun with a superabundance of rabbits. However, foxes don't tend to stay in one den for a whole season, and this mama and her four kits seem to have moved on already, not without leaving a pile of "ecosystem carcasses" in the underbrush in their wake.
Along with ant traps, i really like First Saturday Lime as a preventer. Non toxic and works SO well. I put it in the counter cracks and a few other spots once a year (as opposed to once a month which is what they recommend- hence the name). Works perfectly.
I loved this missive and came running to read all the comments. But it looks like there are no friends in the comments bakery with me yet. As someone recently beset with ants (we finally have an 🐜 strategy after years of being thrown off each spring by their relentless marches) I feel this! Both the ants and how I feel sometimes like I live in a slightly-over-full controlled chaos that I feel like I can manage until one unexpected hiccup (ants, father in law goes to the hospital, the mower is broken) and then there tumbled the whole House of Cards™️ (another show I know I’ll never watch). I’m still trying to figure out the right amount between too much and not enough so I too can watch White Lotus. Thank you for illustrating all this so beautifully 🖤🐜
Any good tips for controlling ants? We have them too and it's very annoying. We don't want to use bug spray because they're taking over our kitchen counters and sink
We deal with rats. I know, gasp! What no one warns you is if you have chickens, you have rats. Three hens equals approximately 300 rats. I don't know how many really. But more than three. We don't kill things at our house, so no traps, no poison. We spent hundreds of dollars (twice) to hire people to rat proof. Didn't work. Rats can dig through copper mesh, wire mesh, gravel. They don't care. They're happy to work hard for their food which is really the chickens food. We moved the food, we took up the food, doesn't matter. You can buy rat birth control, which I did (again hundreds of dollars), but I could not afford the amount I needed to put out daily. SO, I looked up the ingredients, figured out a recipe, and now I bake "rat bars" every four days, and feed the rats birth control every single day. Is it working? hard to say. Hopefully it will cut down on the multiplying of rats, and eventually they'll die of old age, and we won't have as many even if they come from the neighbors (who also have rats whether they know it or not). I'll just keep baking birth control bars (which are safe for the hens, btw).
Okay you win. Rats must be the worst.
Ants are the worst! Having grown up in an ant-infested house, when I see one, I drop everything and hunt them until none remain.
I don’t know if others agree, but I’d say you could skip this season of White Lotus. It was…bad. Just so very bad.
It was very meh. I feel like I’ve already forgotten what happened. Some really good acting though.
I *wish* I could forget what happened. I fear I'll still be complaining about the finale on my deathbed, lol
THE ONES WITH WINGS GIVE ME THE HEEBIES
I swear by Terro ant traps, the ones with the liquid bait. We usually see a few ants in the summer, but the traps get rid of them easily. We do have pantry moths, though, and those are really hard to get rid of. They came with the house, and we can't seem to fully evict them.
I'm wary of essential oils because they're not great for pets' lungs, but that might be worth a try, thanks.
Same! Terro has completely solved our ant problem, and it's easy-peasy to use.
Have you tried using cedar essential oil in your pantry, Amy? Surely there's a way to drive them out without driving you out (moth balls - - ewwwww!)
Every spring, tiny black ants stroll around our kitchen counter. For a few years, I put little ant trap discs every few feet. I felt guilty, and the ants would sidestep the traps anyway. Now, we coexist. The only sacrifice I've made was to stop buying Entenmann's donut holes.They were an ant magnet on the counter. The donuts looked like they were sprinkled.
Not a lot in common this time except that I do like to get outside sometimes. And the ants. This is the first time I've had to check Wikipedia before leaving a comment here. (I'm not an expert on bugs). When we moved in here five years ago we had what I believe are called earwigs that invaded our bathroom occasionally. I sealed off a crack in the baseboard and they stopped coming in. But then ants started invading the bathroom, and my wife really hates ants. But the ants decided to stop coming in for some reason. Then there's the occasional mice problem in garage. I'm the one who really hates mice the most. We plugged in some electric repellent things and sticky traps and that keeps them out most of the time. And fortunately my wife has a super power of detecting exactly where dead mice are inside of walls. Our neighbors across the street have exterminators come once every month, which seems very excessive to me. I often picture mice running across the street to my house to escape them. I also have wondered if ants or earwigs can cross the street and I wonder why they would. But all of this pales in comparison to our year in Texas. We rented a brand new house and roaches🪳would invade the kitchen every night. Even worse, scorpions🦂would randomly drop out of ceiling vents and onto the brown carpet. (That's the last time we had brown carpet). Our daughter was an infant then and my wife had to keep a white blanket on the floor so our daughter wouldn't get stung. Scorpions are the worst. One thing I do miss about Texas is the lighting bugs (aka fireflies). They are beautiful and fascinating. My wife and I agree that butterflies🦋are the best insect.
Cinnamon works to get rid of ants. They were coming into my house via the back door and I put a line down along the outside point of contact. I did take care of the problem but you have to reapply after it rains.
Agree on the ants. Our house seems to crawl with them every year when the summer rains come and we can't figure out a way to stop it! I once came home to find a literal carpet of ants on my kitchen floor. It was like something out of a horror movie. 😱
I also feel like my fiance and I are in a period of juggling a few more things then we have the mental or emotional capacity for at the moment and yet we still manage to handle it all. I don't have show lists but I do have a TBR book that list that seems to only grow longer and never shorter!!
Please share your ant tips!
The show I’m recommending to everyone is andor (you don’t need the other Star Wars background), I think it’s one of the best shows ever done!
Also haven’t watched the most recent white lotus. I don’t know if I’m in the mood for that vibe! But also it would be a show I watch myself (without partner) and I’ve been up to other things lately! But I loved the Kristen bell show with guy from the oc 😍 haha. It’s a vibe, like if you like modern day romance novels, I think it’s that in tv form.
Also feel you on how sometimes things feel like there’s too much going on! Ants sound super frustrating. They work nonstop! What are the Reddit tips that seemed to be working? I usually use the terro ant poison and they usually die down after a day or week of that.
I love ants. Here's the correct order of the best species on the planet:
1. Ants
2. Spiders
3. Dogs
4. Cephalopods
......
10295698. Humans
So sorry you were dealing with ants. What did you do to get rid of them? I remember when I taught second grade, they would go into my students' lunchboxes! And I remember writing on the whiteboard, and brushing them off my hands, gross!
This year we had foxes. They were neither invited nor uninvited, but they *were* welcome due to how last year our ecosystem (which involves a pretty intense garden) was overrun with a superabundance of rabbits. However, foxes don't tend to stay in one den for a whole season, and this mama and her four kits seem to have moved on already, not without leaving a pile of "ecosystem carcasses" in the underbrush in their wake.
Along with ant traps, i really like First Saturday Lime as a preventer. Non toxic and works SO well. I put it in the counter cracks and a few other spots once a year (as opposed to once a month which is what they recommend- hence the name). Works perfectly.