February 1, 2008

Ants, Revisited

It seems that even with the billions of ants parading through my house, there are plenty more to go around. Wednesday's column about my ant invasion touched a chord with a number of readers and the mail has been pouring in faster than you can say Bug-B-Gone.

Jan from Hayward had déjà vu reading the column. Just like Keeper, she also found a line of ants in her house leading to a roll of Lifesavers in a jeans pocket. What are the odds?

Some readers shared the remedies they have tried with varying degrees of success. Martie from Castro Valley suggests using pre-packaged bait she calls "death houses." The houses attract the scouts; they enter and get poison on their little legs, which they carry back to their friends back home. The concept is diabolical-the ants unknowingly kill each other while trying to be good colony members.

Judy H. offers a recipe for homemade ant traps. Combine 3 cups of water, one cup of sugar, and four teaspoons boric acid. Fill 3 small jars with cotton balls and pour equal measures of the mixture into the jars. Do not kill the ants around the jars-let them carry the seeds of death back to their nest. BWAAAHAHA.

Frances K. suggests another tactic-preventing the ants from coming inside in the first place. Her remedy is to pour boric acid around the perimeter of the house. Supposedly, the ants will not cross the line. Just in case, Frances says to fill any cracks and crevices with the stuff.

Gayle M. from the East Bay is a veteran of numerous Ant Wars. Indeed, there is evidence that her house is situated directly over a gigantic any colony. These ants are aggressive--I would be, too, if someone built their house right on top of mine-but have an Achilles heel. It seems they are so attracted to Terro liquid ant bait that they will literally fling themselves into the trap and drown. Reader Grace J. also endorses Terro, adding that it has no odor, a plus for sensitive folks.

Like me, Gayle gets a thrill out of hand-to-hand combat and wreaking havoc with the ants' well-laid plans. She seeks out the larger ants, the scouts, and destroys them, causing a panic among the rank-and-file ants. Gayle admits she gets pleasure from this, and who am I to judge?

Dianna C. has just ordered a product advertised on TV. It's call AntEater. I hope for Dianna's sake that it's not the kind with four legs and a sticky tongue.

Hey, come to think of it, that's not a bad idea for a natural pest-control service. A single Giant Anteater eats up to 30,000 ants and termites every day. Anybody know where I can get one?