(no subject)

[camwyn]

It's warm here- has been, for the past few days- and I have cats who are messy eaters. And occasionally leave sweet things outside of the refrigerator, which admittedly I shouldn't do. These two facts have started attracting ants- little black ones.

Unfortunately, cleaning up after the cats and locking up the sweet things and washing the area down with strong-smelling stuff that promises to eradicate scents does not appear to have dissuaded the ants from following their foragers' trails. They keep coming back.

I've begun chemical warfare. Terro apparently makes a cat-safe ant bait with boric acid that kills within 24-48 hours, the better to take out the whole colony. I feel guilty as hell for using it- it's not as if the ants are destroying my food supply- but they don't belong in my household and they're not a good thing in terms of hygiene or whatever else they might bring in, so... chemical warfare it is.

I'll continue cleaning up and keeping food locked up and all, but for now, the ants are being baited with death, and hopefully they'll give up on this place once the boric acid kicks in.

Comments

[synchronicity2]

We have had pretty good luck with wiping the countertops down with vinegar.

[gramarye1971]

Ooh, thanks for posting this -- it's a reminder to me that I need to give the kitchen a good cleaning, and remind my roommate to get a plastic bin to store her cat's dry food. I had those little ants in my old apartment last year, and they are right bastards to get rid of. They might not be destroying your food supply, but they're also not in a place where they should be living. Best of luck in eradicating them!