Woke up to find myself alone in the house, because Shannon had left to do his usual Sunday afternoon walkabout (bookstores, comic book store, fast-food lunch, etc.). The house is so empty! I vaguely remember this feeling from back when Shannon used to leave the house for work everyday, but this past year of his working from home I've gotten very accustomed to him being around.
Perhaps because Shannon was gone, perhaps because she is just utterly insane, Cobweb has been a maniac today. Racing and skittering and yowling as if there were invisible demons in the house who were impaling her with hot pokers. I cornered her on the futon couch and scritched her for a little bit, and that seems to have calmed her down. She's now reclining majestically on the bed as if she would never deign to race around like a complete idiot.
Sheesh. Cat insanity.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the goddamn ants are sending more scouts into our house. I keep seeing one or two or three at a time erratically roaming my desk. If even arsenic doesn't stop them, what the fuck are we supposed to do??? This whole ant situation has been pissing me off! I hate problems for which there seem to be no solutions. I hate solutions that don't actually solve anything. I hate stubborn pests who don't go away when all evidence suggests that they should.
I guess this is another one of those situations in which the world is not behaving as advertised. Those always piss me off. I'm not so good at dealing with frustrated expectations.
Damn ants.
Anyway, the house is quiet and Cobweb is no longer racing around as if her tail were on fire, so I think I'll go relax with my book. Still reading The God of Small Things, about half-way through now, and it's really quiet wonderful.
Perhaps because Shannon was gone, perhaps because she is just utterly insane, Cobweb has been a maniac today. Racing and skittering and yowling as if there were invisible demons in the house who were impaling her with hot pokers. I cornered her on the futon couch and scritched her for a little bit, and that seems to have calmed her down. She's now reclining majestically on the bed as if she would never deign to race around like a complete idiot.
Sheesh. Cat insanity.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the goddamn ants are sending more scouts into our house. I keep seeing one or two or three at a time erratically roaming my desk. If even arsenic doesn't stop them, what the fuck are we supposed to do??? This whole ant situation has been pissing me off! I hate problems for which there seem to be no solutions. I hate solutions that don't actually solve anything. I hate stubborn pests who don't go away when all evidence suggests that they should.
I guess this is another one of those situations in which the world is not behaving as advertised. Those always piss me off. I'm not so good at dealing with frustrated expectations.
Damn ants.
Anyway, the house is quiet and Cobweb is no longer racing around as if her tail were on fire, so I think I'll go relax with my book. Still reading The God of Small Things, about half-way through now, and it's really quiet wonderful.
- Current Mood:
relaxed
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I was desperate this summer too, and I complained to my landlord even though I knew there was nothing he could do about it and he told me about something that has worked for him and his wife, so I figured I'd try it...what the hell.
At Costco, you can get these things called First Alert Plug-In Electronic Pest Repellers. You plug them into electric sockets and aim them towards where the ants are. (In my case, they're all in the kitchen, aimed towards the center.) The only clue that they are working is that they have a flashing red light.
My experience was that they did nothing about the ants that were already there at the time I plugged them in; I had to get rid of those with spray. (I use some stuff called, I think, Orange Guard, which is pet safe and smells relatively nice.) But I haven't seen another ant since. Granted, it may be coincidence. Maybe they'll be back next summer. I don't know.
All I can say is that I had no where else to turn. The Grant ant stakes that had once worked so well had stopped working and I couldn't even figure out how the ants were getting in (probably coming up through the floor somehow), so I was at my wit's end.
The First Alert system doesn't cost much--about $17.00. I couldn't find them at my regular Costco, so I asked at Member Services and the guy there told me they were sold out but he was able to check the computer and find out that several other local Costcos had them in stock. So, if you can't find them, ask. (I still have the package, so if you want more details, let me know.)
Good luck!