We won!!!!!!!

Hopefully...

I think it is safe to say we can finally claim victory over the ant problem at our house!!! We tried several things (you can read about it here) that just didn't work, or rather, didn't work well. The stinky little boogers, they kept just a low enough profile that while they were annoying, we really couldn't justify taking drastic measures against them, so we just dealt with them. Grrrr. Not my idea of a solution, but it was what it was. Well, we were strolling around Target one day and Aaron saw these Terro Liquid Ant Baits and figured we may as well give them a try (The main ingredient? Borax, crazily enough. Love that stuff!!). The Raid traps we had previously were weird. They just sat there. I don't think we ever saw an ant near one unless he just happened to be walking by. So we wondered about them and their efficacy, but left them out no less. Well let me tell you, these little traps were instant. I mean, within an hour of setting one out it was absolutely swarmed by ants. Like, literally hundreds. And this went on for several hours. It was nasty and exciting all at the same time. (You know you are an adult and a homeowner when you actually get excited about this kind of stuff). Well, so we left if for a few days in the spot beside the kitchen sink where we saw ants so frequently, but we were still seeing a few around the deck door, so one night after we had the kids in bed I told Aaron I was going to set the trap over there and see what happened. And they swarmed it. Again. I'm really not sure now whether we were dealing with one colony or two; but the point being, it has been several weeks now and there is not an ant to be seen in our house. So like I said, I think we can claim victory (and hopefully I don't have to eat my words). Just thought after all the comments and commiseration I may have some followers who were curious to hear "the rest of the story". And now you know.

Ant update

Not a whole lot of progress in the ant department, but then, we haven't tried a whole ton yet either. Never-the-less, thought I owed an update after the ramble-fest of a post I put you through a couple weeks ago. Thanks for all the comments!! What we've tried so far is:

1.) The little Raid traps you sit around that advertise that they kill the whole colony by sending the little anties back to the queenie and thus poisoning her. Mildly successful at best. Don't think we've outed the queen yet. But then, maybe I'm just not patient enough. It said on the box that they are good for three months, so we'll just wait and see. If I don't ruin them all before then. I accidentally ran one through the dishwasher. Don't ask.

2.) Vinegar. Oh vinegar, how I love thee. I tell you, if I were left with only one "all purpose" item for cleaning, laundry and other various needs, I think I would pick vinegar. It's cool stuff. I stuck some in a spray bottle and have just left it on the kitchen counter and have been randomly spraying surfaces and areas that the little buggers seem to frequent (as per several suggestions), and you know what? I think it may be working. Only been doing this for a couple days, so we'll see, but this is the first glint of a promise when it comes to seeing an end to this, uh, situation.

Anyways, so if you were wondering, there you are. I will continue to keep you posted.

It all started when a goose pooped on our house

Hey there, figured that title may pique your curiosity. But I'm really here to ask for your help, so now that I've suckered you in you may as well sit back and have a little read. HAHA.

But it did really all start when a goose pooped on our house, so I wasn't being completely misleading...

It was a warmish late fall day. I went out to water our deck plants and much to my dismay there was icky goose poop. Everywhere. Chairs, table, deck, siding, you name it. It was gross and it just looked bad. And since at the time I had (and still do) a curious little helper shadow, I knew I needed to do something about it. That, and it just looked bad. Did I mention that? Well, so I did what I figured would be the most effective thing, and got out the hose to spray everything down. That worked okay, but that goose poop is nasty stuff and would you believe I had to get out rags and paper towels and scrub that putrid substance off of everything with my bare hands. Yucchy! (That's how Oscar spells it when he's talking to his pet skunk, Daisy, in "The Sesame Street Pet Show" book that Gemma is currently obsessed with, and I like that spelling better than the traditional). Anyways, I digress. Where was I even? Hmmmm, well, point being, not long after this little, episode, THEY showed up. Nasty tiny little ants. All over my kitchen. In my sink, in the dishwasher, the cabinets, crawling on the walls. All over. Now you talk about yucchy. Well, maybe not so much yucchy (see, doesn't it look cool that way? and you can kind of make a raspy sound in the back of your throat when you say it, like, "cccchhhhhh") GAH, sidetracked again! My bad. Anyways, ants are just pesky, with a capital P. I guess that would make them Pesky, then. But my husband assured me they would be gone with the first freeze, and sure enough, they were. Silly me believed that that was the end of our issues. Okay, it was more like grasping at straws than down-home believing, but HECK no. It hadn't been warm for half-an-hour this March and those nasty little boogers were back at it. Same story, second verse. Happy freakin' Spring. So now the whole "they'll die with the first freeze" trick isn't cutting it anymore and I'm beginning to get irate. Just ask my husband. He has been told in no uncertain terms that he is to no longer joke about this situation ANYmore. I'm sure you can imagine. It has me stressed and bothered and annoyed and a million other little things, and I am just plain tired of squashing those little creatures only to open my dishwasher (even when it's just run) and see 50 more. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! And I keep a clean kitchen, to boot!

So now, you're probably wondering B things (I say B, and not 2, since I intend to letter your wonderings, not number them.)
A.) What does this have to do with the goosy-poopy?
and
B.) How exactly can I help?

Well, I shall explain. A.) I am convinced that spraying the house with the hose somehow stirred things up and caused this, this, abhoration. and B.) You can give me some tips on ridding our domicile of these nasty little creatures. I'm just not a huge fan of chemicals, and if someone comes to the house to take care of them I want to know that they will be TAKEN. CARE. OF. and abolished from my presence forever and ever and ever. Period. So there you have it. Sound off, my friends. PLEASE!!

Now yes, I realize, I could have just got on here and typed up a little note asking if anyone had any recommendations for appropriate pest control, but really, where's the fun in that?!

CHEERS!