Dead Ant, Dead Ant, Dead Ant

Do you remember "singing" the theme song from The Pink Pather cartoons? It always did sound like dead ant, dead ant, dead ant. . . If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out here:

 

I haven't been playing with pink panthers, or killing ants. The hot weather has brought ants into the kitchen and I've been struggling with a way to get rid of them. Usually, we just use ant traps and I have to say they aren't terribly effective, especially against the tiny little black ants. But who wants to use pesticides in the kitchen?

I found a solution!!! Ants do not like the smell of vinegar, so I wipe the edges of the counters (in the areas where the ants seem to appear) with vinegar every couple of days. This not only cleans the counters but it repels ants. I have to confess, I'm one of those people who keeps a giant jug of white vinegar in the kitchen. I use it for cleaning. It's a nice, nontoxic way to get rid of some stubborn dirt and stains. Alas, I managed to run out of vinegar the other day and I was baking and the ants were back and I was getting really annoyed at having to wrangle them away from  my baking ingredients without the aid of vinegar. I got so annoyed that I resorted to the only other vinegar in the house. . . malt vinegar. The kitchen smelled a bit like a chip shop (minus the grease) but I'm happy to report that the malt vinegar worked just as well.

When not busy fighting ants, I finished the first Capitola:

It matches the sofa! It's too hot to photograph outside, so I popped the sock on and took a quick photo inside. And the sock is now covered with Loco's fur, even though I have not yet worn it. I didn't even step on the floor with the sock on my foot. But Loco was sitting next to me while I was taking the photo and apparently his fur flew off him and was immediately attracted to my sock. *sigh*

Now I have three socks without mates. . . I can knit the blue Gothic Spire sock, the other Capitola, or a mystery sock that hasn't been on the blog yet. What do you think?????

 

Comments

[2paw]

Now I have an ear worm of Dead Ant!! It transcends all cultures I think!! I use vinegar too, and bicarb. Lovely sock, it does match the couch!! Everything here is covered with dog hair. It is attracted to everything. I am glad I have woollen carpet because at least the hair vacuums off easily!!

[Alison]

I like the Terro brand bait. It's borax and they take it back to the nest. It's hard to let them be when they're swarming it, but getting it back to the nest is what you want.

[Karen]

Your sock looks great!
We pay an obscene amount of money for bug killers to spray our foundation and that keeps the little ants away. We also have a little m-i-c-e problem that they mainly deal with. I really wish I wasn't so allergic to cats.