Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Ants are the bane of my existence!!!

I hate ants! You see I have been at war with the ants in my neighborhood for about 1 1/2 years. I am not stupid! I am well aware that ants have been around for thousands of years and I will not alter that fact but I would love to keep them out of my house.


 Let me begin by giving you a few details.
 - My house is probably 75 years old and has not been maintained well. I have large cracks in my hardwood floors and the ants just come right in through the cracks, electrical outlets, air vents, or anything else that makes sense to them.
- I live about 30 feet from a forest. No really, last night there was a groundhog in my yard.
- We are in the midst of a terrible drought! This drives the ants out of the ground in fervent search for water! (It did rain a few days ago and I am noticing markedly less ants!)


The space between my house and the forest. Take note of all the dead grass.

I literally do everything I can think of to keep them out! I sweep at least 3 times a day. Food is not left out. I store food in my pantry in glass jars. I have the exterminator come spray roughly every 2 months. (It is so bad that at his last visit he informed me my street would keep him in business all year long.) And last but not least I have Terro Ant Baits out (the ants don't even touch the baits).

I am at a loss for what else I should do. Some days they are covering a surface (in the morning) that I know I scrubbed the night prior and there should be no food source there. One day they were all over the high chair because after I washed the tray I left it to air dry (propped up in the seat as I have for years) and there was a small puddle of water in the seat. And then there are days like earlier in the week where they were just frantically searching my house for anything.

If you have any suggestions I am completely open to them! Right now I'm functioning at spray them with vinegar and then clean them up (they die fairly quickly this way). But I am in dire need of a more proactive solution. Help please!

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