Rant About Ants

Beyond the walls and beneath the floor of our home, I suspect, are homes of tiny little insects that are supposed to be good models of being industrious. But, the way they get into pretty much everything aside from food: on the keyboard of the computer, on the wall beside our bed, even in drinking water; they have become more of pests to us.

I have instructed the helper to spray citronella all around the house every day, but to no avail, it seems. The ants are still everywhere! Do you think that if I get one of those Miele Vacuum cleaners, I could suck away all those ants and dump them in a tub of very soapy water? Are there any other ways of getting rid of ants without having to resort to professional extermination?

This question led me to the one of the top results of my Google search for getting rid of ants, or at least deterring them to enter our house or the food storage. According to frugalliving.about.com:

• Use vinegar mixture to wipe down surfaces and places where ants are spotted
• Line entryway of ants with chalk or baby powder (keeping in mind the concern of breathing in talc might cause cancer), with herbs/spices such as cinnamon, mint, chili pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cloves or garlic, with coffee grounds, with cucumber or citrus peels
• Mix borax with syrup to bait ants since borax will cause ants to die

Although the website www.wikihow.com gives a more detailed account of steps on getting rid of ants, even ways to get rid of the colony, I will try the solutions I listed above first.

lone ant on the tiled wall