juldea: (roar!!!)
juldea ([personal profile] juldea) wrote2004-05-03 07:10 pm

welcome our new ant masters

Note to self: When you're having an ant problem, don't absentmindedly set a not-really-empty (in the sense of crusted around the bottom) jar of jelly (all-fruit, to be precise) anywhere in the kitchen unlidded.

That was one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen.

[identity profile] diego001.livejournal.com 2004-05-03 04:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Kent: ... One thing is for certain, there is no stopping them; the ants will soon be here. And I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords. I'd like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves.

Seriously, though, that sounds awful.

[identity profile] ex-sleek838.livejournal.com 2004-05-03 04:59 pm (UTC)(link)
or little drops of coffee with sugar in them on the counters. that's an interesting lovefest as well.

[identity profile] juldea.livejournal.com 2004-05-03 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm glad I don't drink coffee!!
ext_78402: A self-portrait showing off my new glasses frames, February 2004.  (Default)

[identity profile] oddharmonic.livejournal.com 2004-05-03 07:41 pm (UTC)(link)
I once found an Oreo so covered in ants I thought someone had just dropped it until I realized the surface was moving.

The nice thing about being here is that there isn't space between ground level and the first floor for fire ants to build mounds that are hard to get to. Well, that and going around the perimeter of the building a few times a year with Andro (our preferred fire ant killer).

[identity profile] juldea.livejournal.com 2004-05-03 09:15 pm (UTC)(link)
I almost wish these were fire ants, only because I've never seen fire ants this huge (1/2" long). However, the other unpleasant effects of fire ants make the size trade-off not quite worth it.

Who is Andro, and where can I get one?

[identity profile] ex-dervish821.livejournal.com 2004-05-03 09:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I assumed they were tiny. I've never known anyone to have an ant problem with large ants.

[identity profile] juldea.livejournal.com 2004-05-04 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
Well, they're huge and scary. I was quite on edge last night over repeated acts of:

lift dish
see moving HUGE THING underneath
scream
drop dish

Lots of loud noise, but luckily never enough falling distance to break anything.
ext_78402: A self-portrait showing off my new glasses frames, February 2004.  (Default)

[identity profile] oddharmonic.livejournal.com 2004-05-04 08:02 am (UTC)(link)
Andro is a brand of fire ant killer.

I'd check the pest control selection at a hardware or home improvement store for ant killer. I regularly bought fire ant granules at Lowe's when we lived in NC.

[identity profile] juldea.livejournal.com 2004-05-04 08:14 am (UTC)(link)
Well, I'm hindered by the fact that the ant problem is in the kitchen (therefore toxic sprays are bad to wave around) and I have cats (who might nose into granules or something, or get them on their paws and lick it off, and die horribly). I'll probably be buying ant traps on my next grocery trip.
ext_78402: A self-portrait showing off my new glasses frames, February 2004.  (Default)

[identity profile] oddharmonic.livejournal.com 2004-05-05 02:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Amdro (note the spelling, I screwed it up before) is a powdered granule that's spread outside.

Ant traps are always a safe bet. We stopped using them when we switched to sprinkling granules near ant mounds, but we used roach traps the entire time we lived in NC. Those were a real lifesaver for my sanity.