On August 18th I posted the following: "There should be support groups for women who can't put their dishes in the dishwasher dirty." http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-146133-1.htm

Well, wouldn't you know it, I have had to either eat my words -- which I still fervently espouse -- or eat the DA (Damn Ants!) that are invading my house! It's been hot and often dry in my part of VA this year and the ant problem has been the worst ever.

They are covering the trash, even though I sprayed the can and am double bagging; they are crawling over the dishwasher because those dishes are not prewashed; climbing up the refrigerator licking up the drops of spilled Coke I didn't reach; even a few hiding out in my chair, for Pete's sake, going after the crumbs and me where I sit and eat cookies after dinner!!! :shock: What the hey is that?! :evil: Now every little tickle makes me jump looking for the crawlies!!!

So I've taken to rinsing the designs off the dishes before putting them immediately in the machine after eating, what a pain! :cry:
I cleaned the outside of the refrig on my knees....I NEVER get on my knees!! The getting up is NOT pretty. But I was darned if I was gonna clean the inside right now, too! Whoever sees it but me anyway, certainly not the DAs!
I've even taken to washing the garbage from all sweet, greasy, odorous residue before bagging it, can you imagine?! :shock:

I put out no less than 10 DA baits, they enjoyed themselves in there and keep on coming.
I sprayed around the baseboards and spent time gagging in the bathroom and breathing that stuff as the AC spread it through the house. That is SO gross!
I've spread bags of granules around the whole cottage outside, and had to wash my shoes when they were covered with them, thunk-athunka-athunk in the washer.

Chagrin! I thought I'd never see the day I'd be reduced to this level of compulsiveness.....and have to admit it here. :oops: And apologize to those poor, dear ladies who might have had the bad luck to have had a difference of opinion with my original post. :? :oops:

Maybe the amazing rain we got on Sunday, and the really weird, rare earthquake that came today, has driven these DAs back into their holes in the ground and they'll leave me the heck alone to be as lazy, glorious retired as I wish to be!!:roll:

Jan in VA

Maybe the earthquake rattled them so bad that they end up in China or some little deserted island out in the middle of the ocean. BUT....I am sure that isn't going to happen. I hope that you can get rid of the ants soon. Knock on wood, we don't have ants.

Funny how life experiences changes our views and habits! No apology needed here!

we used plastic plates while waiting for our house to be built, and even tho they were washed we had some tiny tiny ants over everything in sight, they even got into sealed containers now we have had rain they seem to have gone again thank goodness. hope your disapear soon

We had ants like that when I lived in California! They were doing a lot of building and disturbed their nests! Finally had to call someone to spray!! Ugh!! Good luck !!

Are your DAs those little tiny black ants? I usually get them when it's dry and that's a lot here in MS. My exterminator said they were very hard to get rid of! UGH! What do I pay you for...I wanted to say!! I've tried those little bait strips where you put the liquid on top and yes they treat it as a spa. I put out borax around the places where they come in and they just track it everywhere. Pesty little buggers!!

BUT, I haven't seen the first one this summer in my kitchen. Maybe they did die off after ingesting all the stuff I put out. Maybe it was just a slow release killer.

Now watch me wake up to a black mob of DAs in my kitchen!

Are your DAs those little tiny black ants? I usually get them when it's dry and that's a lot here in MS. My exterminator said they were very hard to get rid of! UGH! What do I pay you for...I wanted to say!! I've tried those little bait strips where you put the liquid on top and yes they treat it as a spa. I put out borax around the places where they come in and they just track it everywhere. Pesty little buggers!!

BUT, I haven't seen the first one this summer in my kitchen. Maybe they did die off after ingesting all the stuff I put out. Maybe it was just a slow release killer.

Now watch me wake up to a black mob of DAs in my kitchen!

Awwwwww, Jan! That sounds like the universe giving you a lil dose of karma!

(Can I giggle just a little? Please?)

FWIW, we run a fairly tidy house, but with two kids there's crumbs sometimes. So far this year (knock on wood) we haven't had any. But it's probably because DH has caulked every stinkin' hole those suckers can get in! We've had ants come in with weather changes...if it gets unusually rainy after a dry spell, or if it gets super dry they come in looking for water (or so I'm told), or the first cold day after a long lazy fall.

Ants happen. And I think they are right at the top of the list of not-favorite creatures that includes mosquitoes, flies, and spiders. :P

For the first time in 42 yrs of housekeeping, I had ants this year. Exterminator says it is the horrible heat and everyone in my area is fighting them. Mine aren't even in the kitchen, coming out of baseboard in the middle of the house!! Removed baseboard and hopefully he sprayed enough whatever to get rid of them forever.

We fight ants every year in our kitchen, despite having an exterminator come out every three months to treat the outside of the house. We've been lucky they haven't been as bad as what you have going on, but if they were I'd be tearing my hear out, too! I'd also call the exterminator to fry the inside of the house as well.

Shew, I'm pulling for you over there. What rotten luck!