Ant Season!!

 I have lived in my little house-on-a-slab for almost 30 years.  Every house has its quirks.  You have to live in it to figure out what the signs and signals mean.  When the bathtub gurgles as the washing machine drains, there is a problem.  If it isn't taken care of instantly, the toilets will overflow, creating bigger problems.  The plumbers and I are on a first-name basis!

I don't live on the prairie, so I don't have problems with rodents.  Did have a ground squirrel in the house, once.  He had been hanging around the front door for awhile, scooting through a hole behind the bricks in the front.  He must have dashed between our legs when the door was open.  Suddenly, there was something furry scurrying under furniture in the living room.  At the time, we had two resident cats.  One was alerted instantly to the critter in the house.  She sat for a long time by the upholstered rocker, swiping her paw under the chair in an effort to catch the squirrel.  The squirrel had long since scampered behind my TV cabinet, and the cat hadn't figured it out.  (The other cat never had a clue.) 

Megan chocked the front door open while I took a broom to the area around the TV cabinet, and the cat was still pawing and reaching for a critter that was no longer where she thought it was.  Within a minute or two, the ground squirrel made a dash for the door and was gone.  I think the stupid cat continued to search for it after that!  Puddy wasn't all that smart...

For many years, I never had insect problems.  One year, I had invasions of earwigs.  That was in the days when there was too much yard trash up near the house.  Once I got rid of that, the earwigs disappeared, thank God.   In the last three years, I have had an infestation of what most of us non-entomologists call "sugar ants".  They are tiny little buggers.  I don't see them at all unless a tiny crumb of food is dropped on the floor.  Then, suddenly, they appear out of nowhere and disappear into nowhere.  I have bought the little ant bait thingies to put where I see them the most, but they don't seem the least bit attracted to them.  At present, they seem to be absent.  I think that's because they have called on their brothers, the big black carpenter-ish ants to come on in!  

I like the big black ants because they are easy to see, not because they are in my house.  I've learned that merely stepping on them doesn't always result in death.  Sometimes you have to step and twist.  (Ewwww!)  That strong exoskeleton works wonders for them.   Again, I have no idea where their entrance point is.  They show up in the house when the weather warms up.  This has been going on for at least the last six years.  I usually find them around the front door area, which is also where my computer is.  I must smell like food to them because I often find them crawling up my leg, which is not my idea of fun. 

My bugs are a minor annoyance.  They aren't in my food supply, nor do they bite or threaten me.  I just don't like them in my house.  I don't know what the answer is.  I could call an extermination company that would cost me big bucks to get rid of a few 6-legged critters.  And that company would want me to sign a contract to come back.  Yeah....no.  I've lived this long with the insect world.  I can probably make it to the end of my life by just squishing my unwelcome guests with my feet!