Uninvited house guests....4 years running
TV ClubHouse: ARCHIVES: Big Brother USA 2003 General Discussions Part 1:
Uninvited house guests....4 years running
Catbowl | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 11:00 am     What is up with all those ants?!? I have seen them all four years and getting pretty darn tired of their intrusion...enuf already. We know how the regular houseguests will react to them. How the heck did they get in the frig? Find out what brand it is and boycott em!!! I say...EVICT THE ANTS!!! or at least have a comp centered around 'em....lol
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Kalekona | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 11:01 am     And the Black Widows!! |
Earthmother | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 11:07 am     Welcome to California in the summertime. Ants are looking for water and if there isn't any outside they come inside looking for it. If I water my lawn and some water gets on the steps of the house, ants cover it within minutes. We have used traps, poison, even had the yard sprayed monthly and nothing works. |
Justin42 | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 11:08 am     Both bugs are unfortunately very, very common in the LA area. The ants have been really bad this year, my workplace keeps getting invaded. I've seen reports on the news that basically says the entire LA area is almost one super-ant-colony as they're becoming so widespread. It'd be nice to evict them, though! (and hey, I'd rather have [normal] ants and black widows than fire ants and the other bugs I see when I visit relatives in Texas! ) |
Seamonkey | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 11:16 am     Yes, this is simply the time of year for ants.. Actually fire ants are in California but they haven't spread as fast or much as had been anticipated. Black Widows are always around, though in my experience they tend to hide out a bit.. I'm not sure that all of Robert's Black Widow discoveries are truly black widows. They haven't shown a single black widow closeup, just orb spiders.. I've got those too.. persistent devils, spinning up a new web every night. |
Gina8642 | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 11:27 am     Ants are just impossible to get rid of. We used to have a huge invasion in the house I live in. We tried everything. We finally got them mostly out of the house, but they creep back a little every summer. Totally have to keep on our toes to keep them out of the kitchen. |
Makays | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 11:43 am     This is our first year in CA and I would say they have a different variety here than in other parts of the country. I've never been so bothered by them at any other time in my life like I have been here. Everywhere I look outside they are running around like crazy. I never thought a little ant could be so mean and nasty. They latch on to you with all they've got and try to kill you.(at least that's what it looks like) Sting like the devil and leaves a welt on me that lasts for weeks. Itches 24/7. I watch their little bodies twirling around as they are biting you. Enough already!!!!!!! If anyone has any great ideas on how to get rid of them please let me know. Amazing how such a little creature can be such a pain in the neck. |
Hobbs | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 11:56 am     And I thought Florida was bad. I think I'll stay here thank you. No California for me! Except maybe the extreme north. |
Bananaclip | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 01:07 pm     Spraying white vinegar around the area helps keep the ants away. I also used baby powder and haven't seen any ants since. |
Mystery | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 01:22 pm     After growing up on the east coast though I will definitely take CA's ants over mosquitos. |
Sunrvrose | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 01:35 pm     Makays, I feel your pain. The only time I've been bitten by a fire ant was when I was vacationing in Florida. I don't think childbirth hurt as bad or as long as that bite did. I just moved from southern California to northern California and this is the first place in CA that I have seen a fire ant. So far no bites tho. Where are you in CA? |
Seamonkey | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 01:36 pm     Makays.. I'm in Calif but the ants I get aren't the bitin' fightin' kind.. just THERE.. I do like to feed them to the spiders tho.. drop them in the web and spidey gets all stoked! (little spiders, not the big guys outside) |
Goddessatlaw | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 02:25 pm     I don't think anywhere is free of ants. I had a brunch one day at my condo and spilled a bit of orange juice on the floor leading from the patio door to the refrigerator. Next morning, there's a frigging parade of ants, complete with marching band, drumline and flag girls, strutting-kicking across my kitchen. I almost had a heart attack. I hate them more than spiders. |
Churah | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 02:32 pm     It's the huge tree roaches here. They look for water when it doesn't rain. I usually pick them up by their "feelers" and put them back outside. One of those big ol' rascals swung around and latched onto my thumb. I didn't now they bite....and hard, too ! WHHOA MAMA !! I took him outside, still affixed to my thumb, and smashed him to smithereens. That'll teach him to feast on me. |
Jazzzy | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 05:43 pm     we live in a sandy soil area, and a few years ago, one of the neighbors-whos a big farmer, got some ant type kller/repelent, that was only available to farmers. and let a few of the neighbors use it. Its such a strong toxic, that you can only use it, it the area will be free of people and pets for 7-10 days. But only a few drops worked for the small cottages in this area, & immediately. There are times I wished the toxic warning didn't scare me,and i would of used it. Good luck with them, and vaccum often, that erases the scent on their trail. |
Twiggyish | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 06:00 pm     Ants are a problem in Florida, too. They come in if you leave anything open..like a window or door. |
Beruthiel | Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 06:24 pm     Hi from the great white North...we have ants here too, all over the yard, using my water hose as an ant highway, and there's been a buried ant colony outside the back fence for 16 years, persistent little buggers. They dug a new one a few feet away, and after two years, I buried the new one under a compost pile. Nothing's worse than stepping into a flower bed to weed and within seconds have zillions of them climbing up your legs, arrgghh! I think they're like roaches, they'll survive the demise of mankind and end up building rockets to the stars. |
Makays | Friday, August 29, 2003 - 12:07 am     Sunrvrose We are in the Mojave desert area. Goddessatlaw ....too funny....you took the words right out of my mouth. You nailed it on the head with your description. (Marching band) LOL Bananaclip I will have to try the white vinegar next time they invade my kitchen. No matter how much I clean they seem to know if there is a crumb anywhere to be found. |
Pbnj | Friday, August 29, 2003 - 06:13 am     hi Makays~~was going to suggest moving back here to NH but Mystery beat me to it......the mosquitos are B52-like here in the northeast and are not put off by bug spray. My legs are covered with welts the width and depth of a decent sized crater. I recently moved from SoCal to the east coast and I can tell you honestly, I'll take those ants anyday. For the ants, we found the trick of spraying around the foundation of the house to work the best (no such fix for the skeeters). An occasional 'tough guy' would venture in but they never bit me so we tolerated each other. If I remember right, ant season is just about over for you. Ants here in NH are hummer-sized so I think I'd freak a little more if they were in my kitchen....so I feel for you. |
Beruthiel | Friday, August 29, 2003 - 04:20 pm     Coincidence. After reading this last night, I watched a gardening show on HGTV and the theme this week was organic gardening. They gave several 'harmless to pets and humans' ant remedies. Ants don't like mint, so grow spearmint or peppermint near your house. If you peel cucumbers and place the peelings on anthills it makes them go away. And finally, both talcum powder, or diatomaceous(sp?) earth sprinkled around doorways, or anywhere you don't want ants to go will keep them out. Both break down the waxy coatings on their bodies, and both are also good for slugs. Almost forgot, a remedy I've heard of quite a few times is to boil water and pour it on the anthill. Dunno if these would work on the tough ants you have down South, but anything's worth a try if the problem's really bothersome I've never tried any of these remedies, as I try not to use any chemicals in my yard, so I don't know if they're any good, but the experts seem to think so. I just let the critters do their thing and keep each other in check because I have bird feeders and bird baths and don't want to poison the birds. |
Twiggyish | Friday, August 29, 2003 - 04:28 pm     Wow, I like several of these ideas. |
Beruthiel | Friday, August 29, 2003 - 04:52 pm     They aren't bad, are they, Twiggyish? Fairly simple, easy, and cheap, and if any of them work, then great! I might even try one or two myself!  |
Cangaroo | Sunday, August 31, 2003 - 09:40 pm     I learned this trick on the HG channel...take wide chalk (like children's sidewalk chalk) and draw a really thick, heavy line...I've drawn them on my windowsills...and the ants don't cross the line! I had always thought that an old wive's tale, but it has worked here. Also, someone mentioned pouring boiling water on the anthills...I had never tried that, but pouring boiling water on dandelions works. Sometimes it takes more than one application a few days apart, but it kills them without using weed killers (for those of you with small pets or children). I don't know about ants, but I've also found that many small insects don't like basil either (from the HG channel too), so I have pots of it next to each doorstep...that's what I call multi-tasking! |
Jazzzy | Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 04:16 pm     I've heard of putting a basil leaf in each cabinette to keep out ants. Ants are very hard to combat, they can and ususally do tunnel 30-40 feet underground, IF only they would stay there! |
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