ANTS

Hello,

Ants. I hate ants. I used to just dislike them intensely, but I've crossed over to hate I'm afraid. It started with one tiny brown ant in the kitchen two weeks ago. One hitched a ride and apparently thought my laptop and copy/fax machine would be neat things to live in.

I spent most of the day formulating and executing a plan to eradicate the interlopers for sure. I first researched various ideas online, all the while swatting at another ant running across the keyboard~ or worse...me! I really dislike insects. Especially when the insect is on me. The ants paid no mind to whether it was the nice warm laptop or me that they were running around on. I did a quick web search, coming up with several ideas to come up with something I thought would work to fix this predicament.

Long-suffering hubby, Bill was an integral part of my plan. First I doused the fax/copier, screaming “eeek!” and “ew gross!” each time a wave of ants scurried out from some crevice, only to meet an untimely death due to Raid.

When no more ants were exiting the machine, I got soap and water with paper towels, and washed all the chemicals from it. Then came the real excitement. I snugged a large black garbage bag around the butt end of the machine, then Bill strategically lifted it and we plopped the rest of it in the garbage bag! Voila'! I drew the drawstring tight, then Bill held it up while I duct-taped the end and sealed it tight.

Apparently the fax/copier now needs to sit in the middle of the house in a black garbage bag with silver duct tape on top of it for several days till all the ants die. Then I get the treat of opening it back up and vacuuming up the ant carcases. Great.

The computer was less infested. Thank God! It still got a shot of Raid, and the black bag treatment. An interesting twist to 'de-bug' a laptop of ants was offered by a computer fellow who lives in India. He apparently had the same issue. He took his wrapped up laptop and placed it in the hot sun for an unspecified amount of time. Mission accomplished. Dead ants.

I figured a half hour of the hot southern summer sun beating down on the laptop in its secured baggie on our back porch would be just the ticket. I am pleased to report only one live ant that I swatted. The laptop is ant free...hopefully. After cleaning all the parts I could get to with soap and water on a paper towel, it only stinks of Raid slightly, and my eyes are watering much less now....

If ants get into and take over electronics, they can make 'new connections' in the electrical system, shorting out parts of the computer~ till its fried from the inside out by ants!

Frax has watched all this messing around with the computer stuff with astonished equanimity. I've kept him far away from both machines till they were clean and insecticide-free. He didn't mind giving them space. He hates the computer to begin with and I secretly think he might have been rooting for the ants!>sigh<

Later...

LV, FX & JT

#ants #bugsincomputers