piled higher and deeper

The Terminix Man Came Today

2006-01-27T16:23:00.000-08:00

The Terminix guy came today.

Since I last wrote my ant update, the little suckers have multiplied. We assumed that since we had poison traps set out and that they were making their way to and from the traps, we were poisoning the nest. It wasn’t happening. While I waited for their demise, I read up on their habits. Did you know that ants lay a pheromone trail? It tells their friends and neighbors how to get back and forth between the nest and the food source (think Hansel and Gretel without the crumbs). Did you also know that the little shits will, over time, alter their trail to the shortest route possible so as to minimize their efforts? Well, my little overachievers had accomplished that by yesterday morning. Their first trail hugged the floorboards, keeping the out of the way of my feet and the vacuum cleaner. Our built-in kitchen desk was halfway on their route. They originally marched under the desk following the three sides next to the walls. By yesterday morning they had shortened it to strutting right across the floor seemingly confident in their security.

Last night, knowing their demise was eminent, I decided to mess with them. I placed a very small (but about the size of 25-30 ants) piece of corn chip on the floor over their trail. I had read that if you disturb their pheromone trail, they will alter it. I wanted to see it – I mean, I had my own little ant laboratory. The ants sniffed (do ants sniff?) at the chip a while and climbed over and around it. I grew bored and decided to check a little later. Perhaps 30 minutes later, I returned to my subjects. THEY HAD MOVED THE PIECE OF CHIP WAY THE HELL DOWN THE TRAIL ALMOST TO THE END WHERE THE USLESS POISON TRAP WAS SITTING. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I stayed to watch. Eventually they broke the piece into two pieces and one group took one piece, the other group took the other. Did you know ants have teeth?? I truly was amazed by my ants’ strength and kindness to each other. Such a sense of “community” (do you hear foghorns)? My husband suggested that since they were such good cleaners, we could keep them and we’d never have to sweep again.

Anyway, as I mentioned the Terminix man came today. I’m glad I was gone – because Bob and he discovered the food source. Remember, I thought the food source was the poison! I mean, their trail began (or ended, I couldn’t tell) there. It seemed to end (or begin) under the refrigerator. The Terminix man is trained to find the “source” before “treating” the problem. He asked my husband what kind of cleaner I used on the kitchen floor. Did it contain lemon or any similar scent? My husband phoned me. “Honey what do we use to clean the kitchen floor? The Terminix man wants to make sure our cleaning solution isn’t attracting the ants.” I briefly thought about saying “sugar water”, but I wasn’t that irritated. Turns out our cleaning solution had nothing to do with it. The Terminix man continued his detective work (my husband was quite impressed).

I have to tell you that all week, as I watched the ever growing population of ants, I continued to say, “Thank goodness the ants aren’t in our pantry” and “thank goodness the ants aren’t on the countertops”. I was putting the best construction on the situation. Well, the pantry is just a large cabinet next to the refrigerator. The ants passed by it on the way to the food source – remember the poison? The detective decided to check in the pantry. (I was in that pantry several times a day each day for the last week.) There in the corner on the bottom shelf he found a huge pile of ants – why didn’t I see them??? He looked around and found the food source. Now, just so you know, that shelf contained bags of sugar, a bag of Hershey Kisses, several opened bags of various flavored chips, a package of Oreos, etc. In fact, we had eaten some chips the night before. The food source was the bag of spicy blue corn chips!! The ants had eaten several holes into the bag and were feeding on those spicy chips! The sugar and chocolate were untouched! The Terminix man said they would have stayed until the chips were gone.

Bob and the Terminix man removed all the food on that level and sprayed the shelves and the whole trail. Any stray ants that are still around and cross the poison trail tonight will shrivel up and die.

I can clean the floor tomorrow. For the week they were with us, they did provide a bit of entertainment. But, I am SO GLAD they are gone!

Oh yeah, the Terminix man replaced our mouse traps in the basement. Did you know that you have to switch up the mouse poison or they’ll get used to it and not die? Must have been our problem for the last couple months! Oh yes, I'm serious!

Ants - Day Two

2006-01-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

This morning, the ants were having a bit of a conference in the kitchen. (Remember yesterday when I said that if you see 10, there's for sure 10,000 you don't see. I think it's way more than that!) I could "live" with the long line of little black creatures hurring along the floor boards - it was obvious they were going back and forth to their nests - carrying the poison as they went. Every so often I'd sweep up a group - they were so easy to corral. But, I draw the line when they are out in the middle of the kitchen. One had found a crumb 8 times as big as he was and, before I stepped on him, he was struggling to pull it across the floor. I "googled" ant control and found several articles. One said it could take 2 weeks to kill a colony. I give in! I need back-up. I'm calling Orkin.

Aspen Beauty

2006-01-22T17:33:00.000-08:00

Hiking in Boulder

2006-01-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

Hiking took on a new meaning when Bob and I joined our friend Craig on two hikes in Colorado last fall. The Boulder hike took the prize. The start of the hike - a gradual, but steady incline -lulled me into a "This isn't going to be hard" mindset. I mean, the Aspen hike 3 days before had been a "piece of cake". Well, not really, but it didn't include climbing of any sort!

200 yards up the wide, sunny path it was time to shed some clothing - thankfully I had dressed in layers. We took a turn off the sunny path and began the climb up the boulders to the top. Craig promised us an awesome view of the city of Boulder and points miles beyond. I couldn't wait. The hike was steep enough and the air was "thin" enough that frequent rests were necessary. "You can stop after we go up around this next turn", he'd tell us. Sure, okay! We'd take a short rest and start up again. It was disconcerting, though, to be frequently "lapped" by young women hikers out for their morning stroll! Up they'd fly leaving us in the dust, not panting, usually greeting us with, "Not much further!" or "Great day, huh?" I suggested to my single friend that perhaps this was a good place to meet women!

The hike stayed steady and steep for 30-45 minutes. It was fun. Sometimes we'd climb over boulders, but usually, we'd hike. We reached what I thought was the top. Where was the view? Should we just walk around this corner? Is it over here? Craig said, "Hang on a minute" and started climbing up a very large boulder that required more than what I thought a "hike" should be. Bob followed and I stated that I was just fine where I was and I could see "out there" nicely.

Well, if you knew the two guys I was with, you'd know that wasn't good enough. "Come on, follow us." "NO!" "Come on, you're coming with us." "Well, okay." I wanted to cry - I think I did cry. My legs were trembling. "Just reach up with your hand - grab here", Craig would say. "Put your foot here", Bob would say while taking my foot and helping me. "I'm happy here", I said, "you guys go on, I can see from here!"

I climbed - I had no choice - you don't say "NO" to Craig and Bob certainly wanted to keep going. I have to say that when I made it up the boulder I was thrilled - I did it - I wanted to stop, but they didn't let me - I'm glad they didn't. "Okay, we made it", I said, "where's the view?" "Over here", said Craig, "follow me". Well, you know that feeling when you are up on the roof, or an observation deck, or something similar? You're okay if you stand back a bit and look out - no need to go all the way out to the edge to see. We were on this "ledge" of sorts - people were sitting up on boulders above us and around the back area of the ledge. Craig kept going and said to us, "Come on, follow me, walk out here". "No, I'm fine here". Remember what I said about not saying "NO" to Craig? I had no need to go further - I could see. I went further. Bob, on the other hand, got a phone call right about the time I was arguing about stepping out toward my death and he stayed put.

"I don't want to walk out there", I said. "Just come out here and stand a minute, then you can go back." "I'm fine here." "Okay, then, I'll come and help you out here." "No, don't touch me, I can do it". "Well come on then." "I'm coming - people are staring." "Well, if you come out, they'll stop watching." Humiliation is a motivator! I walked slowly toward the edge with one hand on the rock wall, well, actually both hands and my back to the rock wall. It was worth it, trembling legs and tears and all.

Nice to have friends who show you that you can accomplish more than you think you can. The hike down was much easier!

Ants

2006-01-21T10:43:00.000-08:00

I'm fighting ants today. I hate them. When you see 10, you know there are 10,000 more waiting in the nest for their little friends to come back and communicate the location of the food. If you watch them, you can actually see them stop and talk with each other - "Go tell the others - there are delicious crumbs out here!"

I'm competitive by nature and even as I write this, I chuckle at myself when I say, "The ants won't beat me!" Armed with the broom, dustpan, vacuum, and new ant bait, I'm ready. "If I sweep them up and flush them, I'll be rid of them." By the time I get back from flushing, there are just as many that have taken their place. (Remember what I said about the 10,000 others?) I put the broom away - it's a futile attempt. The vacuum will be much better, I think.

I strategically place the ant baits. They have to be close enough to what appears to be the "entry" point of the little shits. Too far out and I'll have them marching across my kitchen! It doesn't take long and the ants are attracted. They begin their march to the sweet tasting poison. Groups gather, eat, and leave to tell others. I vacuum them up on their way out. It's satisfying - I know I'm fighting a losing battle - but every time I dispose of a small group, I feel like I've won.