boobaby
Platinum
Reged: 05/01/07
Posts: 317
Loc: mass
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Oh, so kind of like when we were little kids and got glue on our hands and had to peel it off? that was fun!! Who am I kidding, I still do that. Thanks for the tip.
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germangirl631
Platinum
Reged: 04/04/08
Posts: 1259
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So, I was doing a pest treatment around my home this weekend. I thought I was doing a great thing. (well, I was, it just opened a can of worms so to speak). So, as I'm spraying around the windows outside, I can see all the caulk on the outside is dried up and cracking and not doing its job. Crappo number one. Now, I have to re caulk my windows on the exterior. And soon! Not a job I'm looking forward to.
The pest spray container says you're supposed to spray certain areas indoors, too. I didn't do it yet. (I was afraid it would kill the new hamster). Well, this morning, my son says "there's ants on the carpet!" Crappo number 2. He must have super powers when it comes to seeing, because for the life of me, I couldn't see them until my face was 8" from the carpet. And he's calling out there's one over there!! I'm like, where? "Over there" he's pointing. He could see the darn things from 6 feet away, and I'm struggling at 8". So, I find some ant baits and set them out in strategic spots. I hope they work.
Maybe I stirred up an ant house when I sprayed outside and then they decided to come inside? They're those tiny ants. I guess I'll need to spray indoors tonight and to hell with the hamster. The to-do list just keeps growing...
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boobaby
Platinum
Reged: 05/01/07
Posts: 317
Loc: mass
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ggirl,
My ex use to use diazanon (sp?) to kill the ants around the house. He would srpay all over the outside of the house, including my tomato patch. I didn't realize it until one day I was eating my tomato and realized it had been sprayed with diazanon. That stuff is so strong I believe they took it off the market. No wonder some of my brain cells are no longer working. Now I just let the ants have free reign of the house, although I do a little ant squashing dance every now and then when they start taking over the house.
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numbnms
Platinum
Reged: 10/18/07
Posts: 708
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GG have an ant problem here as well, we won't even talk about the fireants outside (I live in MS, so they are kind of like Kudzu you just learn to coexist and hope they don't run you off). The ones inside are the little black ants, always called them sugar ants but have no idea why, they are now my friends and I talk to them at night while I do the dishes. You should try it, they don't say a lot but really seem interested in what I have to say. I can tell they are interested because when I start talking to a few of them more seem to come out of nowhere to join the party, or maybe it is that cookie I give the first group? Naah it's me they really like me.
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Forget waiting for the storm to pass
Learn to dance in the rain
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germangirl631
Platinum
Reged: 04/04/08
Posts: 1259
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Numbs - so if I put out a cookie, they'll all come out to play and I can squash the crud out of them while they're exposed? I really don't like ants. Especially IN my house. Maybe they came in because we had a pretty big rainstorm last night. Oh, I wish they would just go away! And, I don't want to take a gander in the crawlspace because i HATE going down there. I gives me the heebee jeebies. I get my furnace filter cleaned 2x a year because the service man comes to check the unit, and I make him clean the filter. That's in the crawl space, too.
Yuck!
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Mr.Revenge
Platinum
Reged: 04/28/08
Posts: 352
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gg631,
Spray inside, forget the hamster...I had 3 when I was a kid. They are "disposable pets". Don't want to sound cruel, but I learned a lot about "acceptance" when I buried 3 hamsters in peanut butter jars (wrapped hamsters in paper towels first) in my back yard as a kid (and I also learned about the digging capabilities of raccoons!!!).
My daughter and step-kids all had hamsters; some got lost, some just up and croaked...fairly cheap replacement with almost no tears.
Now the ants, those little peckers will have you kicking your feet, scratching, and not sleeping...at least you can SEE a dead hamster (hope I don't sound cruel here...I love animals, but ants are a pain in the ass).
Only other solution: Hamster stays with "Grandma" or someone during the indoor spraying (might be good for ALL inhabitants for a night).
Good luck. Please keep us posted. I know there is going to be a lot of laughter associated with this mission!!!!!
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numbnms
Platinum
Reged: 10/18/07
Posts: 708
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GG I will give no advice on how to hurt my friends the ants. Sorry but I made a pledge with them and I always keep my word. They shrunk me down and showed me around their nest, it is really a nice layout they have and your filthy chemicals will never be able to penetrate their barriers so just stop trying. Or maybe I shouldn't have mixed that vicodin with the vodka <shrug> either way I am way mellow now. OOOO look pretty colors...what was I saying?
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Forget waiting for the storm to pass
Learn to dance in the rain
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germangirl631
Platinum
Reged: 04/04/08
Posts: 1259
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Numbs - maybe you can come to my house, shrink down and reason with my ants. Tell them they need to move back outside where they belong. Or, maybe I could mix vicoden and vodka and feed it to my ant family. They'll see pretty colors and get lost! Thanks for the interesting idea, numbs!
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mrpat
Platinum
Reged: 09/12/07
Posts: 2725
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Most ants will come in the easy way i.e. the doors. Spray a barrier on the outside and inside of the sill and jam. This will slow the progress of said invaders.
When claking use a paintable latex exterior calk. Take a small pot of water and a roll of paper towels. Place calk in desired area and wet finger to smooth calk then use paper towel to remove calk from finger and repeat. Also use a wet paper towel to remove any unwanted calk from the area it's being applyed to. Good luck both suggestions have been proven to help in my lab.
Edited by mrpat (06/30/08 06:34 PM)
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Mr.Revenge
Platinum
Reged: 04/28/08
Posts: 352
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mrpat is right,
The "finger-licking" technique prior to smoothing the bead of caulk is the best way (I painted my way through high school and college, and believe me, the glove will cause problems...).
Sorry about the "terms". Has this thread gone "porno" again??? Funny how home maintenance and sex have so much in common!!!
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