Ants

Those of you who know JR well no that he hates bugs. He blames this on the fact that when he was young, his older brother told him that the bugs found near a certain tree in their yard were poisonous and he would die if they bit him.

My personal philosophy about bugs is that as long as they are not touching me or my food (or anything that will touch me or my food), they can go about their business. So, when I spotted a couple of ants on the floor in our bathroom, I didn't worry too much about it. I mean, we're moving out in a little over two weeks and they were just a couple of ants.

Well, Tuesday night I made teriyaki chicken for dinner. JR and I have gotten into the bad habit of eating in the living room while watching tv. A little teriyaki sauce spilled on the coffee table, but we didn't notice it before we went to bed. As I'm sure you're imagining by this point, when I woke up the next morning, there was a small swarm of ants by the sauce.

I still didn't freak out. I knew already that the ants had found some way in and it was our fault for leaving a sweet stick mess on the table to tempt them. I cleaned off the sauce and the table and didn't worry too much about it.

Thursday I wake up and there are new ants on the table. However, instead of concentrating on a specific area, they are generally milling about the whole table. This is the point at which I snap. JR gets the cleaning spray and hoses down the whole table. Everything seems to be fine.

When I wake up this morning, JR tells me that there were ants on the table again and that he tracked the spot where they are entering, which is near the fireplace. We agree that ant traps are needed. Then JR makes a push for something that he's been wanting us to get for years - a carpet cleaner. I have generally been resistant due to the size and cost, but we are agreed that our rug needs to be cleaned and that there may be crumbs that are attracting the ants.

After doing some research, I find out that it will cost us $60-140 to get our rug cleaned at the rug cleaners (cost depends upon the rug style, which they can't determine until you bring it in). So, it seems like that money would be better spent towards the carpet cleaner, which will pay for itself after a few uses. So, we're off to Target tonight to procure all of our ant-eliminating supplies.