Dead Ant, Dead Ant....

Right before I left work on December 23rd our office was being overrun by ants. It's been cold and rainy and they always come in when that happens. I have a pest control guy that comes by once a month and puts ant pellets out around the building and that keeps them at bay most of the time. But they don't like to get wet.

Employees wanted action or they were going to take their own, as in a can of Raid. I just can't have insecticides inside our building. We have a pregnant woman and several people that are allergic to the sprays. So I got on the Internet and found out the natural ways to deter these pests.

I found that there are many natural choices for getting rid of the critters without spraying. We had used an Asian ant chalk several years ago that someone had picked up at an Asian supermarket. It worked great. You draw a line through the ants and they disappear like magic. You don't even see any dead bodies. But we ran out and what I discovered online is that it's actually an illegal substance in the United States. Figures it would get outlawed.

I did find a wealth of natural remedies out there to get rid of ants; salt, talcum powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, orange oil, vinegar and water, soap and water and just plain old chalk.

Since I had black pepper at the office I chose that one. You simply sprinkle black pepper on them and their point of entry. I mean, what could it hurt? It was free and wouldn't harm anyone in the office. So I set off with my container of black pepper and sprinkled it all over the ants. I think my fellow employees thought I was crazy, but I was on a mission. I got down on my hands and knees and followed their trails. I found their point of entry and I sprinkled they heck out of them. They immediately slowed down and within 15 minutes they were gone. Another magic remedy!

It's now the day after Christmas and the ants are not back. I think I've found my new favorite pest control.