26 • The Beacon July 27 , 2023
There ’ s a lot of ‘ workers ’ in my kitchen that I don ’ t want
Normally , I live life on a pretty even keel . I usually take a live and let live approach , but that was before a bunch of tiny “ worker ” ants in my neighborhood recently formed their own collective to attack my kitchen . Now I ’ m game for some insect murder .
Last time we had an ant problem , the ants were much easier to dispatch than they are now . We set out some ant killer bait , my husband Joe sprayed around the outside of the house and we waited . A few days later , they were gone .
Not this year . The ants
Get $ 250 off have gained more intel on what it is that is killing them . Of course , it ’ s printed right on the bait in big letters that say “ Ant Killer .” That could be why they are steering clear of the poison .
When I saw the ants appear this year , I remembered some leftover bait from the last time and immediately set out a couple on the counter . I resisted the urge to flush them all
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down the sink with sink sprayer . The faster they grab the bait and take it back to the colony , the sooner I ’ ll be rid of them .
After a few days , they seemed to disappear . Yay , I ’ m rid of them . That was easy .
The next day they were back with a vengeance , spreading their little pheromones all over my kitchen . Pheromones are one way they communicate with each other and leave a trail for the others to know where to go . I was not happy . Then I began to more closely observe the ant comings and goings . They seemed most active in the morning and sometimes the evening . During the day , especially toward the afternoon when the sun was hitting that side of the house , they seemed to stop coming in . In the evening , if it was cooler , they didn ’ t come in either . It was interesting but was not helpful in eliminating them .
A couple years ago , Joe had ordered me a set of stove gap protectors . They are opaque strips of silicon that keep crumbs and stuff from falling between the countertop and the stove . They work really well .
Now the silicon strips were working really well for the ants . They used them as ant bridges that allowed them to access the stove and another countertop . I gave an evil laugh as I removed one of the strips , confining them to only one countertop .
It took me a couple days to pick up another kind of ant bait . I immediately sat it on the counter , not bothering to remove the other ant baits . And the same thing happened . A few days later , the ants seemed to disappear — success .
But no , the next morning there they are again ,
Aren ’ t humans the superior species ? Aren ’ t we at the top of the food chain ? Shouldn ’ t we be able to get rid of some stupid ants ?
all congregated in a triangle-shaped spot where one of us probably dropped something sweet into the sink and didn ’ t get it rinsed down well enough .
I ’ m getting a little sick of them . Aren ’ t humans the superior species ? Aren ’ t we at the top of the food chain ? Shouldn ’ t we be able to get rid of some stupid ants ?
I ’ d really like it better if we could just reason with them , like “ quit coming in my house or I ’ m going to kill you and all your family , friends and fellow worker
ants .” Maybe they ’ d like it if I would put some food and water out for them , but sadly , there ’ s no interspecies ant / human communication .
Without doing much research , I went to the big box store , which Joe said is the best place to find ant poison . It might be , but I didn ’ t find much available that visit . It appears there are lots of people having the same trouble I am with ants .
I was feeling better about my situation though . In the same aisle , there were supplies to get rid of mice , rats , snakes , roaches , yellow jackets , moths , flies , mosquitoes , gnats , spiders , bed bugs and fleas . At least I didn ’ t have any of those — yet .
So now I have three different kinds of poisonous ant bait on the kitchen counter . And I haven ’ t seen one ant interested in the new bait , which says , by the way , it doesn ’ t kill Argentine ants and several other varieties . Surely , I don ’ t have Argentine ants . They ’ d have to be in Argentina .
A little research and , well , Argentina was just their home base . Now they are an invasive species found all over the world , and they look just like the ants that are crawling around my kitchen . You can get a more definitive handle on this by crushing one of the ants and seeing if it smells musty — no thanks .
I ’ m still on the lookout for more ant poison , but for those keeping score , it ’ s ants 3 , humans 0 .
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DELI
H Alpine Swiss ............................... $ 3.98 lb . Jalapeno Muenster ...................$ 3.85 lb . Aged Guggisberg Swiss ............ $ 4.35 lb . Chipotle Jack Cheese ...............$ 3.95 lb .
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H Deli Specials of the Week
Chicken BBQ Available Sat ., Aug . 12th at the store . Preorder by calling Larry Raber at 330-231-7808
CHICKEN SALE 40 lb . cases only Tenders $ 110.50 Breasts $ 85.50 Thighs $ 98.50 Leg Quarters $ 39.50
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