There was a mass-killing this week in our apartment. Not nearly as scary as it sounds - we had been having a small ant infestation over the last few weeks - as few here, a few there. I set out a few of those little Terro traps and put up with the few that kept crawling around the kitchen. They are those tiny little sugar ants, so it's really easy to kill them and then put them out of your mind. Well, this week the little infestation turned into a huge infestation, when I found a million of them under the sink, crawling all over everything. So I bought another pack of the Terro traps and set all 7 of them up under the sink and sat back to wait for the little buggers to die. Under the sink, they were really out of sight, out of mind and really contained there, so I checked on them every morning to see if they were dying out for a few days, just waiting for the Terro to work its magic. It didn't appear to be working - there was still a million of the little pests, walking in a straight line all over under the sink.
So, yesterday afternoon, before my run, I went into the kitchen to take hamburger out of the freezer, opened up the freezer door, and was greeted by a whole stream of ants in the freezer. They had made their way out from under the sink, they snuck past the broom and mop, up the side of the fridge, and into the freezer. I swear, there is nothing worse than opening up the place where you keep food, and see a million tiny, creepy ants crawling over everything. Luckily, the freezer had frozen most of them, so there were little piles of ant carcasses all over the place, but at least they were dead and easier to clean up. So I spent the next half an hour sponging up all the ants in the freezer and flushing them down the sink drain. I cleaned up the whole trail up the side of the fridge, and the trail out from under the sink. I figured this could hold them off while I went for my run, then I could go to Safeway to pull out the big guns.
Post-run, I headed to Safeway to scan my ant-death options. I was going to just go with the Terro again, because it seems contained and safer, but it hadn't been working in the past and then I spotted the ant "spray". Now normally, I don't like the idea of releasing chemicals in aerosol form into the air in my kitchen where I prepare food. However, if you have ever opened up your freezer to find a colony of ants, you will understand that it makes you do things that you don't usually do. I was lured in with the promise of instant death to ants and cockroaches (not our problem, but hey, might as well prevent that too). I schlepped it back to the house and prepared for the fight to the death. I first opened up the doors underneath the sink and herded as many ants as I could from under there onto the floor in front of the sink. I then used the broom to sweep them into a small contained circle. Then I pulled out the spray can and opened up on them. And it worked!! Instant death! And not even any writhing in pain or dying a slow, painful death to make me feel guilty - these ants were goners the second the spray hit. And I'm not going to stop and think about what was in that spray that killed those ants so quickly - I am merely going to bask in my victory. So after decisively disposing of all living ants in the kitchen, I sprayed that spray anywhere that I have seen an ant in the last few days to discourage them from coming back. Supposedly, they won't come on old trails where they smell the spray. And for the last few days, I have not seen a living, crawling ant anywhere in my kitchen.
Which was really cool for awhile. This morning I thought - the whole thing was too easy - we've had a few ants here and there since we moved in - now I couldn't find one if I tried. I suddenly noticed that the kitchen was eerily quiet. Too quiet. I just know the ants are planning their next attack somewhere. They are laying low for a time while waiting for me to become complacent. So now I just have a general feeling of anxiousnesss - when will they attack again, and where. What can I do to prevent it? Coat the entire apartment in ant spray? No thanks... So, I guess I will have to wait patiently for their next move. The ball is your court now, ants. Bring it on...
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