Invasion of the ants!

Just this week my home was INVADED by ants. It started on Wednesday night. We came home from work and saw trails of ants in the kitchen. We went outside and found the trail. The ants had crawled up the side of the house and onto the roof, where they proceeded into the house via some molecular-sized entry point.

My husband Jason stated the ants had found a doorway and created a golden highway. There were so many ants it was like science fiction.

And the ants go marching down...

Our house was build by an architect and is full of interesting details. For example, we have cork ceilings throughout the house. The ants were running along the the space between the cork ceiling and the wall. This was the ant main entry point... so I sealed it up with caulk.

Ant bait

Outside, we did some more caulk sealing. Basically, I was trying to close the door on the little pests. I also removed the mulch from around the foundation to make the habitat less hospitable. We purchased ant baits (interior and exterior), at the recommendation of Brad Kard, Ph.D. (structural/urban entomology).

Ant hunter

Woke up this morning and the ants are gone; few stragglers remain.

Until next time!
GP

One easy trick to save $

Maintain the heating, ventilation, and ir conditioning (HVAC) system on your home with this one little trick: Keep it clean (this is one of our 7 principles of healthy housing).

Since about half of our energy dollars go to heating/cooling, it makes sense to do everything we can to help our equipment be more efficient. Debris can restrict airflow to the unit.

Before: Air handling equipment covered in leaves

After: Much tidier

This is something that I can do myself. It took me all of 3 minutes, and can easily be added to my Saturday chore list.

Last second stuff

All:

In the event of an emergency, we suggest that you have list of a few things to grab at the very last second. For me, it's my phone and my purse. I am adding a NEW item to the list: My daughter's hearing aids!

This is an example of one of those items that cannot go into my disaster kit, which is stored in my shelter. If we are expecting weather, I'll have my purse, phone, and her hearing aids with me so I can be ready, if necessary.

Daughter Hampton getting her new hearing aids fitted.

What are your last-minute items?!

GP