We got the Liquid Ant Bait traps from Lowes last night and Rick put them out. Well, he got up this morning and there were ants everywhere. It was just ugly. He told me that no matter how icky and squeamish I felt, I needed to leave them alone because they were taking the poison back to the colony. Just leave them alone. I did. It took everything I had, but I let them go.
Well, he got home from work around 10:30 or so this morning. And it was still ugly....I couldn't handle it. He went outside and saw nothing. So he went down into the basement and started pulling insulation down and looking for ant trails. He found the colony (or nest or whatever it's called). It was in the area right above the dishwasher where the concrete wall of the basement hit the wood of the house. He sprayed and sprayed with Home Defense to the point where the whole area was saturated. Then he went along the wall, spraying as he went and saturating. It took about 30 minutes before we could see a decrease in the ants. We are now ant-free, as far as he can see. We kept the insulation down in the basement so that tomorrow morning, he can caulk the wall out, then we'll replace the insulation.
We had never had an ant problem like that before; we had had some ants last summer, and that was the first time. We figured that the kitchen renovation had disturbed something there, so Rick started checking. Our electrician had drilled a new hole in the basement for some new wiring in the wall and we think that somehow an opening was created in that area.
It was downright creepy. I washed down the kitchen counters very well and then re-sealed the granite, just to be on the safe side. Washed down the wall in that area, too. Cleaned the sink out. Cleaned out under the sink and sprayed Home Defense there, too, as the cats can't get into the cabinet under the sink.
If we see any more ants, I'm calling somebody to take care of the whole house.
Ick. Just ick.
Well, he got home from work around 10:30 or so this morning. And it was still ugly....I couldn't handle it. He went outside and saw nothing. So he went down into the basement and started pulling insulation down and looking for ant trails. He found the colony (or nest or whatever it's called). It was in the area right above the dishwasher where the concrete wall of the basement hit the wood of the house. He sprayed and sprayed with Home Defense to the point where the whole area was saturated. Then he went along the wall, spraying as he went and saturating. It took about 30 minutes before we could see a decrease in the ants. We are now ant-free, as far as he can see. We kept the insulation down in the basement so that tomorrow morning, he can caulk the wall out, then we'll replace the insulation.
We had never had an ant problem like that before; we had had some ants last summer, and that was the first time. We figured that the kitchen renovation had disturbed something there, so Rick started checking. Our electrician had drilled a new hole in the basement for some new wiring in the wall and we think that somehow an opening was created in that area.
It was downright creepy. I washed down the kitchen counters very well and then re-sealed the granite, just to be on the safe side. Washed down the wall in that area, too. Cleaned the sink out. Cleaned out under the sink and sprayed Home Defense there, too, as the cats can't get into the cabinet under the sink.
If we see any more ants, I'm calling somebody to take care of the whole house.
Ick. Just ick.
