Bug A Boo

We're having a problem with ants.  It's not really a big problem, and far from an infestation, but eurgh, talking, looking and dealing with them just gives me the heebie jeebies.

At least every other morning you hear Toots or Tiger holler "An ant, an ant...!" and of course daddy catches them in a cup and disposes of them outside, so when I look for the nearest tissue or piece of toilet paper to squash them in I get the long reproachful looks and lecture from Toots on even ants being one of God's creatures and being smaller than us and therefore scared of us and so we should save them, not kill them.  Anyway, those odd one or two in the bathroom or kitchen in the morning aren't really the issue.  No, it's the fifteen or so we see every other night sauntering around the spare room, bathroom and corridor in between, or padding around the left kitchen worktop without a care in the world.  And they're not there a minute before, then suddenly you go to check on the girls one last time before bed, or go back to the kitchen to get a drink of water, and you see them playing around in their masses.

You never really find them anywhere else in the house which was weird - the odd one or two you see walking on the walls in the living room or dining room, but thankfully none are in our bedroom or bathroom, and rarely are they found in the girls' or baby's bedrooms which are nearest the family bathroom.  And you never see them carrying food, or rummaging around in the places that food might be found, like under the table, on the kitchen floor, or other places the girls snack and crumb.

I looked up quite a few websites and they all gave a variety of 'natural' methods of repelling them, and clear instructions on killing the lone ants you find because they are the scouts out searching for food (which is why I have no qualms about squashing the wee blighters when I find them).  You're also told to make sure you wipe down the surfaces after you've seen a scout, because they leave a trail for other ants to follow.  They also suggested putting down black pepper, or salt, or chalk, right where you think they're coming in, so over the last week we've decided they're coming in the spare room underneath the dodgy skirting boards (the whole house is a DIY disaster with barely anything flat, flush or fitting right) and today Toots, Tiger and I had great fun chalk drawing on the floor by the crack.  Nothing seems to work though...

Anyway, I called the Bugman today to get the outside of our house, doors and windows sprayed to prevent general beasties coming in (I'm not a fan of bugs and if there's an option to keep them out then I'm gonna take it!) and while on the blower asked about the ants.  And apparently they're Carpenter Ants.  Not a nice species to have, and not a whole lot we can do about them without some super sleuth work.  Apparently they live in walls, skirting board, hollow doors, even sockets, under window sills, and the tops of toilets.  They're bigger than normal ants and the ones invading our house are a reddish brown colour.  The Bugman said they're not coming in to find food (which is good to know at least!) because they eat aphids, wood and other things outside, but come into houses here in the Spring and Summer during dusk and midnight, I think because it's cooler he said.  Which was also kinda good to hear because it totally tied in with how, where and when we find them.

Anyway, before we can eradicate the problem we have to find their source, which means trailing them both inside and outside the house to see where they're coming in and decide whether they live inside the walls/windows or just near to the house like in a tree (which we have about a meter from the spare room bedroom window).  At this point in the conversation I'm thinking "Boy am I glad I'm married and can have someone do the investigating for me!"

Actually, another ant will be living in the spare room come Friday: Aunty Fona.  And arriving from Haiti I'm sure she's well used to beasties worse than ants, so perhaps she can become the super sleuth and track these wee blighters for us between dusk and midnight.  Here's to hoping!!