Saturday, August 22, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Carnage Smells Like Oranges
As I have previously mentioned, my house has one major problem: when it rains, fire ants find their way inside! These ants are not content with infesting the normal places like the kitchen bathroom, or even dining room. They actually prefer the upstairs bedrooms (and the downstairs hall closet)!
For a period of time, they enjoyed my room, and sought out my clean laundry in order to build nests inside my clothes. There they waited for an unsuspecting victim to get dressed in the dark before they made a feast out of her pasty flesh! So, after we washed all the clean laundry for the umpteenth time, I purchased some highly toxic chemicals, sprayed them all over the carpet, and banned my children from the room for several weeks. It worked, for I have had no ants in my pants since.
However, a few nights ago, I discovered something horrific to a tender-hearted mommy like myself. Scout was having a particularly fussy night, so I crawled into bed with her(she is in a twin that is only inches off the floor). I immediately knew what was wrong- the ants had infested her bed!!! I quickly scooped her up, and deposited her in my bed. Thankfully her pajamas protected most of her skin, so only her arm has about eight bites; I think I may have fared worse! What was I to do? I couldn't use that potent chemical around her, and definately not where she sleeps.
My mom mentioned, "some orange stuff" that she used to be able to get at the mega-center. Being that few people would be able to direct me to such a product, I looked it up online and discovered "Orange Guard." It is water based, made from orange peels, said it can be used near food, children, and even in pet beds. I was skeptical, but desperate, so I went out and bought some.
I didn't fully believe that orange peels could kill insects, though I suspected it might act as a repellant (hehe- repel ant). I decided to test the downstairs closet first. I sprayed them, and they started running all over the living room. Great, the little problem I could have solved with a vacuum and some borax, was scattering all over the place! So I began spraying them like a mad woman on a mission. I think I may have gone overboard, but my house smelled fantastic! I left for a bit to strip the sheets off of Scout's bed. I came back downstairs, and then inspected the carnage.
There dozens of little ant carcasses curled into tight little balls. The others that were still struggling were clawing at their heads, trying to pull off their own antenae. It was vicous chemical warfare on a minute level, and it smelled blissfully cheery. It reminded me of being outside in the late summer, pulling a tangerine off the tree in the backyard, yet at the same time my victims writhed as they prayed to their little ant god for their misery to end and for the carnage to stop. It made me morbidly cheery to watch them waste away, for I knew they would no longer be able to torture my innocent daughter.
I treated the girls' room, and put plain white sheets on Scout's bed so I could easily see if they were there. As of a few minutes ago, I have only seen a lone ant, perhaps searching for other suvivors, but she never found them before she met her orange-scented demise.
For a period of time, they enjoyed my room, and sought out my clean laundry in order to build nests inside my clothes. There they waited for an unsuspecting victim to get dressed in the dark before they made a feast out of her pasty flesh! So, after we washed all the clean laundry for the umpteenth time, I purchased some highly toxic chemicals, sprayed them all over the carpet, and banned my children from the room for several weeks. It worked, for I have had no ants in my pants since.
However, a few nights ago, I discovered something horrific to a tender-hearted mommy like myself. Scout was having a particularly fussy night, so I crawled into bed with her(she is in a twin that is only inches off the floor). I immediately knew what was wrong- the ants had infested her bed!!! I quickly scooped her up, and deposited her in my bed. Thankfully her pajamas protected most of her skin, so only her arm has about eight bites; I think I may have fared worse! What was I to do? I couldn't use that potent chemical around her, and definately not where she sleeps.
My mom mentioned, "some orange stuff" that she used to be able to get at the mega-center. Being that few people would be able to direct me to such a product, I looked it up online and discovered "Orange Guard." It is water based, made from orange peels, said it can be used near food, children, and even in pet beds. I was skeptical, but desperate, so I went out and bought some.
I didn't fully believe that orange peels could kill insects, though I suspected it might act as a repellant (hehe- repel ant). I decided to test the downstairs closet first. I sprayed them, and they started running all over the living room. Great, the little problem I could have solved with a vacuum and some borax, was scattering all over the place! So I began spraying them like a mad woman on a mission. I think I may have gone overboard, but my house smelled fantastic! I left for a bit to strip the sheets off of Scout's bed. I came back downstairs, and then inspected the carnage.
There dozens of little ant carcasses curled into tight little balls. The others that were still struggling were clawing at their heads, trying to pull off their own antenae. It was vicous chemical warfare on a minute level, and it smelled blissfully cheery. It reminded me of being outside in the late summer, pulling a tangerine off the tree in the backyard, yet at the same time my victims writhed as they prayed to their little ant god for their misery to end and for the carnage to stop. It made me morbidly cheery to watch them waste away, for I knew they would no longer be able to torture my innocent daughter.
I treated the girls' room, and put plain white sheets on Scout's bed so I could easily see if they were there. As of a few minutes ago, I have only seen a lone ant, perhaps searching for other suvivors, but she never found them before she met her orange-scented demise.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Because I am so cool......
I have been so busy these past few weeks it seems, and this coming week will be even crazier! Training has been going okay, but I still don't sing loud enough through the whole class. I think maybe if I wasn't basically having to shout for over two hours, I would project better during one class (just re-read that sentence, I know it makes no sense, but I don't feel like changing it).
Well, I was riding in the car (did I mention my A/C is still broken?) with Scout and Little C (my 2-year old sister) and we decided to sing work songs. I was belting them out at the top of my lungs, trying to be loud enough for work. Well, during a particularly boisterous rendition of "Come Under my Umbrella," we came to a very busy intersection. As I finished the song, I looked out the window and saw the three cars nearest me; they all had their windows down. All the passengers and drivers were slack-jawed staring at me in disbelief. I guess I am probably loud enough for work now!
Well, I was riding in the car (did I mention my A/C is still broken?) with Scout and Little C (my 2-year old sister) and we decided to sing work songs. I was belting them out at the top of my lungs, trying to be loud enough for work. Well, during a particularly boisterous rendition of "Come Under my Umbrella," we came to a very busy intersection. As I finished the song, I looked out the window and saw the three cars nearest me; they all had their windows down. All the passengers and drivers were slack-jawed staring at me in disbelief. I guess I am probably loud enough for work now!
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