Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Fighting the Enemy: Ants


Ant
Originally uploaded by sbfisher
At work and at home we have ants. Argentine ants. a LOT of them. THEY BITE!
I despise these little critters. Some days when I work I'll pick something up and within seconds I'll be COVERED in ants.
At home I left some meat out on the counter and went to the bathroom, when i came back the plate was crawling with ants. I couldn't even see the meat anymore it was a blanket of Argentine ants.
The worst day was when I woke up in the middle of the night and I was covered in ants, ants all over my sheets. I couldn't find where they were coming from!

I found an Organic and Safe solution to those out there battling ants like me in Pomona. Though In the kitchen I had to seal the holes where they were coming in with latex sealants. This may not work in the bathroom where the window is almost always open. I don't want to seal my window up! So what I did was use Cayenne pepper powder. It won't kill the ants but the ants don't like it at all. Within an hour the ants were all gone. Ants hate any spicy powder, so Garlic powder, Cayenne Pepper powder, Chili Powder, anything spicy. You may have to use a bit though, create a thick layer of the stuff. After a few days the powder will settle and the ants will just make a trail over it. All you have to do is disturb the powder every once in a while to keep the ants out. You could create a perimeter around wherever you want to keep ants out of.

I hope I never wake up covered in ants again. I'm going to sleep with a bottle of Cayenne Pepper powder next to me from now on.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It seems to me that there is either a sanitation or landscape culture issue causing such a dramatic infestation of ants. Extreme ant infestations are often related to sources of food, water and shelter nearby. Perhaps you have trees nearby with heavy saps or fruit? Do you have heavy ground cover, mulch, leaves or wood piles nearby that provide moist shady areas for the ants. Do you provide food sources for the ants inside your house? How often do you clean? I think, rather than spreading expensive and messy spices all over the door and window frames, it's time to call a professional exterminator for pest control.
We are available for both general and organic pest control in Pomona, CA. Our company is Hearts Pest Management (www.heartspm.com). Call us at 800-986-1006.

Andrew said...

I actually rent so i don't want to invest too much, but you know what. If it comes down to it, I would love to support a local business in Pomona. Glad you contacted me.

Andrew said...

p.s. it's been months now. and the ants no longer come by. didn't use too much. i'm safe!