Ants, ants, ants!!

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If I never see another ant, it would be too soon…….

When we first moved into our “new” older 1973 home, we were in for a shock.

Funny how when you move into a new house you don’t know what sort of problems or challenges you will face until you’re all settled in.

For us, it was the discovery that during the first hint of nice weather in the spring after we settled in the winter, would be the onslaught of ants! We literally had ants in every room of our house! Even our walk-in closet. It was insane!

I tried everything from Liquid Terro to vinegar to soapy water, and at the time, I didn’t care for those options.

The liquid gel bait was frightening because it would bring a swarm of ants, and it grossed me out! We’d never had more than a few ants in our 2-bedroom condo in which we used to live!

 

how-to-get-rid-of-ants-in-your-home

 

Over time, I realized that the liquid gel was probably the best way to get rid of ants.

I later found, however, that the professional pest control people were using a liquid ant gel bait called Optigard.

 

 

I asked them to give me some to keep on hand, and even though they’re not allowed to do that, they obliged. 🙂

But you can easily order Optiguard from Amazon.

Within 24 hours, the ants were gone! 🙂 This stuff works well!

 

Things I Learned About Owning a Single-Family Home After We Moved In

Aside from the ant problem, here are some other things that you realize after buying a single-family home:

  1. Insects, insects, insects! Namely, ants! It’s much different when you’re covered by grass on all sides, versus living in a condo 3 stories up!!
  2. Lawns grow faster than you think…….You NEED a lawn mover sooner rather than later!
  3. Stinky basements are hard to make fresh. UGH…..(Click here to see how I turned my basement into my home office).
  4. Trees grow strange spring crap that will fall into your driveway and stain the driveway. These are things YOU are responsible for.
  5. You’ll never have time or energy to do all the tedious things like paint your crown molding bright white, or paint your trim. You’ll have to live with these things undone for a LOONNNGG time!
  6. Gutter Guards are not just for infomercials–you really do need them!!

Read: 10 Questions You MUST Ask Before Buying a Home

 

Here are some lovely things I’ve discovered in my new house:

The Joys of Owning a Single-Family Home

  1. There’s really nothing like the joy of realizing you own a single family home!…..(well, in 30 years it’ll be mine….But heck, can you see yourself living anywhere for 30 years?? I mean, really….).
  2. Getting to know your neighbors and actually liking them makes you feel like you hit the jackpot.
  3. Any negative things you have to deal with is worth it considering you just got your kid into one of the best public elementary schools in the city.
  4. Knowing that I can try my hand at gardening since now we have the space to do it! We’ve begun seedlings inside and they’re starting to germinate!! See how I build this DIY hanging fence garden.

Anyhow,  I surely didn’t intend to make my list of “negatives” longer than my list of “positives.” There are more in each category, and I’m sure it would even out if I had more time to post them all.

My Other Favorite Ways to Get Rid of Ants

In the meantime……if you happen to stumble upon this post because you’re being invaded by ants, try some of these other options to get get rid of the ants.

Using gel bait to get rid of ants in your house - Thrift Diving

Diatomaceous Earth

This food grade diatomaceous earth is the ground up fossils of sea creatures. To humans, it feels like powder. To insects, it will lethally cut and scrap and kill any insect exoskeleton it touches. I like to sprinkle it in the cracks and crevices around my house. Be sure you DON’T breath this stuff in, and use one of these pest pistols to apply it.

 

 

Hiring Pest Control

It’s an expense that you don’t plan for–trust me!

Ranging from $40-$60 a month, it can be expensive over the course of an entire year.

But since having a professional pest company spraying outside bi-monthly, we’ve seen less incidents of ants. And when we do see them, we spot treat with the Optigard.

Spraying outside has helped a lot with keeping them at bay!

 

It’s Hard Owning a New Home

The hardest part of owning a new (or different) home is figuring out all these “new home” quirks when you first move in, including figuring out how to deal with pests such as ants! But with the right tools and info, it doesn’t have to be so difficult! And hopefully, you can get past the shocks and just focus on what’s enjoyable about your new home!

 

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4 Comments

  1. Did you ever find a termite invasion? Those black ants love to eat termite. We’ve had termites and now the black ants (they are ALL OVER the baits like yours!) so I wonder if the ants are eating the termites that we also can’t seem to get rid of with professional help! I’d like to know, did you ever solve the ant infestation? Or discover termites?

    1. Funny you mention that, but at one point, I did discover termites! We had a company come and put stakes in the ground. Nothing has been found since. And our ant problem is really good now!!

  2. HAHA! Okay, I know this is probably an older post, but this had me busting a gut. Your lists are spot on truth. And we have had such an ant problem this year with so. much. rain. I will have to try the diatomaceous earth – isn’t that the gritty stuff in toothpaste? The ant invasions mean my husband and I roam the house wild-eyed and shout “MARABUNTA!!!” as a humorous way of dealing with the problem. (If you ever saw the old Charlton Heston movie “The Naked Jungle” then the marabunta reference would make more sense. If you haven’t seen it, well it would make you look at ants in a whole new hilariously terrifying way. Gotta love those old sci-fi movies lol)

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